Basbousa

I'm taking a short detour from my barely started quest to find the perfect egg white biscuit recipe to bring you what is probably one of simplest things I've made in a long time. This tasty slice is a breeze to make and, providing you have a sweet tooth, down right delicious.

As it's really quick to make this is an excellent dessert for an impromptu dinner with guests. You know,the ones where you decide an hour or two beforehand that you want to have a guest or two around for dinner and somehow you have to cook a meal, make a dessert, set the table, and make the house presentable. The kind of dinners you can only have with close friends because otherwise you look flustered and slightly disorganised and, in my case, everyone knows that's already the case so there's no harm done.

When I cook I try to make things I've never had before and this is no exception. I've had very similar things but they've always been more complicated to make, involving hot pots, stoves, and all that jazz. Is this really requires for the cake is a minute or two of time and a bowl. The syrup is done in a pinch too. What more can you ask for?

Basbousa

(from Food Safari by Maeve O'meara)
makes 25-30 pieces

For the cake

2 1/2 cups coarse semolina
1 cup dessicated coconut
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
1/2 cup (75g) self-raising flour
200g thick yoghurt
200g unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
25-30 blanched almonds
milk, if required

For the syrup

1 1/2 cups (330g) sugar
1 cup (250ml) water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon rosewater

Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F), grease and line the base of a 30cm x 20cm x 4cm (12" x 8" x 1") baking tin.

Mix the semolina, coconut, flour, yoghurt,melted butter, and vanilla in a bowl. The mixture should be stiff but not dry, if it is too difficult to stir add a little milk.

Spread the mixture into the baking pan, then cut it diagonally into diamonds about 5cm (1") wide. Place an almond in the centre of each diamond.

Bake the cake for 3040 minutes, or until golden on top.

Whilst the cake is cooking, begin the syrup. Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until all the sugar has dissolved. Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and rosewater.