Namoura – Lebanese semolina cake
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Namoura is a real treat in Lebanon (sometimes known as basbousa in the wider Middle East) – a cake made from semolina, almonds and yoghurt flavoured with rosewater syrup. Here, it's served with quince – both roasted and made into a jelly – and a scoop of strained rosewater yoghurt.
First published in 2021
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Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Namoura cake
- 1 tbsp of tahini
- 100ml of Greek yoghurt, or cream
- 250ml of whole milk
- 50g of ground almonds
- 350g of fine semolina
- 75g of caster sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 50g of blanched almonds
- almonds, both blanched and with skins on, to decorate
Syrup
- 100ml of apple juice
- 20ml of lemon juice
- 2 tsp rosewater
Roast quince and jelly
- 4 quinces
- 50g of brown sugar
- 250g of sugar
- 50g of lemon juice
- pistachio nuts, chopped, to decorate
Rose yoghurt
- 150g of Greek yoghurt, strained through a jay cloth into a bowl overnight
- 2 tsp rosewater
SAVE RECIPE
Equipment
- 20cm square loose-bottomed baking tin
Method
1
Begin by making the quince jelly the day before. Peel, halve and core the quinces. Place the quince halves in water with lemon juice to prevent discolouration and set aside for tomorrow. Place the quince cores (including all the seeds) in a pan and cover with water
- 4 quinces
2
Bring to the boil then simmer until soft and completely broken down. Pass through a muslin cloth overnight without pressing to collect the liquid
3
Also on the day before, prepare the cake batter. Grease a 20cm square cake tin with the tahini
- 1 tbsp of tahini
4
Mix the yoghurt (or cream) and milk together in a large bowl then stir in the ground almonds, semolina, sugar and salt and beat until evenly mixed. Pour into the greased cake tin and place in the fridge overnight
- 100ml of Greek yoghurt, or cream
- 250ml of whole milk
- 50g of ground almonds
- 350g of fine semolina
- 75g of caster sugar
- 1 tsp salt
5
The next day, preheat the oven to 150°C/gas mark 2. Cut the raw batter in the tin into 8 rectangular pieces and place a raw almond in the middle of each square. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden on top and a toothpick comes out clean
- 50g of blanched almonds
6
At the same time, roast the quince. Drain the quince halves from the water, sprinkle with the brown sugar and roast until just tender – check them after 1 hour, but they could take longer depending on their size
- 50g of brown sugar
7
Whilst the cake and quince bakes, weigh the strained quince syrup and for every 500g of liquid weight, add 250g sugar and 50g lemon juice. Simmer the syrup, lemon juice and sugar together until dissolved then boil for 20 minutes until set. Pour into a container
- 250g of sugar
- 50g of lemon juice
8
To make the syrup for the cake, place 100g of the quince jelly in a pan with the apple and lemon juice and boil for 5 minutes. Stir in the rosewater then pour over the cake whilst both are still hot. Leave to cool in the tin
- 100ml of apple juice
- 20ml of lemon juice
- 2 tsp rosewater
9
Warm 100ml of quince jelly and toss the warm roasted quince halves in the warm jelly. Line a tray with greaseproof paper and place the quince cut-side down to set
10
Stir the rosewater into the strained yoghurt
- 150g of Greek yoghurt, strained through a jay cloth into a bowl overnight
- 2 tsp rosewater
11
To serve, decorate the cakes with almonds and gently warm through in a low oven. Place the cakes on plates, spooning over any remaining syrup, then serve alongside a nice dollop of yoghurt, a lovely piece of roasted quince and a spoon of the jelly. Sprinkle chopped pistachios and almonds over the quince
- almonds, both blanched and with skins on, to decorate
- pistachio nuts, chopped, to decorate
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