Recipe: Perfect Coconut Basbousa (semolina cake)

Coconut Basbousa (semolina cake).

You can cook Coconut Basbousa (semolina cake) using 8 ingredients and 5 steps. Here is how you cook it.

You need 2 cups of semolina.
You need 1 cup of desiccated coconut.
It's 1 cup of ghee (clarified butter).
You need 1 tin of condensed milk (sweetened 397 gms).
You need 1 of & 1/4 cup water.
You need 1 tablespoon of baking powder.
You need of OPTIONAL: pinch of vanilla powder and pinch of cardamom powder.
You need of SUGAR SYRUP : 3 cups water, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 lemon slice, few cardamom pods.

Mix ghee and condensed milk. Add in semolina and coconut. Add cardamom powder, vanilla, baking powder. Finally add water and mix till smooth. Top with sliced almonds and pistachios if you have some. Let this mixture sit for atleast 30 minutes !.
Grease a rectangular wide baking dish. You don’t want the layer to be too thick. Pour in batter and bake in a pre heated oven for 30-35 mins at 190c. Turn the top on for the last 7-8 mins to brown the top. Basically there isn’t much cooking, just want the liquid to dry up so once a skewer inserted comes out clean, it should be good to go..
Side by side, bring 3 cups of water to boil with 3/4 cups of sugar. Add squeeze of lemon juice and leave a lemon slice in. You can add some cardamom pods too. Boil for 7-8 minutes, you need about 2.5 cups of liquid. It doesn’t need to become a thick consistency! But it does need to be very hot when the basbousa comes out of the oven..
Once basbousa is out of the oven, pour strained sugar syrup over it. All sides and in the Centre. Let it rest for about two hours. Then cut into squares or rectangles or even diamonds and enjoy!.
Serving tip: use cupcake liners / wrappers to serve individual pieces !.