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This dense, moist, and sticky sweet almond flour cake recipe is a gluten free version of the Middle Eastern cake Basbousa.
If it snowed where you live over the weekend, I hope you stayed safe and warm and had the chance to enjoy the snow. Or at least bake something delicious!
Mike and I are in DC and we’ve been hunkered down since Friday enjoying the snow. This weekend we had our second snowfall, which was actually a doozy: winter storm Jonas! Being from Buffalo, I am in my element. Although we were starting to go a little stir-crazy by Sunday afternoon, we actually had a lot of fun.
Friday night, against my better judgement, Mike convinced me that a drive in the snow would be fun. He was right!
For the first time ever in DC we had the roads (and thruway!) nearly to ourselves. (It bears noting that there was a travel advisory, but no travel ban in effect; we aren’t that much of rebels, lol. And there were just a select few people who were as crazy as us out there, and they may very well have been displaced Buffalonians as well.)
We drove to downtown DC and saw the monuments in the blizzard, which was a beautiful sight. (Take note, even this was not a smart thing to do, so kids – and adult kids – please don’t try this at home. I will say though, Mike’s car handles the snow pretty fabulously.)
Saturday morning (despite the fact that it was still snowing), we had a full brunch out on our snowy balcony.
And of course this wintry weekend brought baking too! A sweet friend and fellow blogger, the very talented Dolphia of Story of Cooks, inspired me. (I made her amazing Masala Wraps not long ago!)
Last week, Dolphia messaged me on Facebook with a question about my recipe for Coconut Semolina Cake from my cookbook. After that I mentioned the cake to Mike, and he asked me to make it. It had been a very long time since I made it, and I guess this set off a craving, lol!
Basbousa, Namoura, or Harissa: The Inspiration for This Gluten Free Almond Flour Cake
This cake is traditional in the Levant area of the Middle East. Mike has always called it Harissa (a term he learned from his Damascene mother), but it also goes by the names Basbousa and Namoura, depending on who you’re talking to and where you are.
The original version of Basbousa cake uses semolina flour as its base. Semolina is a coarse flour made from durum wheat that’s typically used to make things like pasta, couscous, and certain cereals. I have no trouble finding it at my Middle Eastern grocery store and I was planning to pick it up last Friday. However, long story short, the storm nixed that idea.
No problem; I decided I would just find an alternative to semolina flour! I’ve been using almond flour for years to make gluten-free and/or paleo-friendly baked goods, so that idea came to mind and I ran with it. It ended up working really well!
Not only does this gluten free cake have great texture, but it browns gorgeously on the top and sides, which is exactly what you want here.
Mike liked it so much, he told me to make this cake with almond flour instead of semolina from now on!
Pro Tip: How to Flavor Simple Syrup
To flavor the sugar syrup (aka simple syrup), you can use orange blossom water, rose water, a mix of rose water and orange blossom water, vanilla extract, or any other flavor extract you like.
Ingredients
In addition to making this cake gluten free, another change I made from the original recipe that’s in my cookbook was to cut it in half. It’s just two of us, and being snowed in I definitely didn’t want a full-sized cake lying around!
It was easy to cut the recipe in half, and I baked it in a cute little 6-inch pan. An 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch loaf pan should work too, but you may need to slightly adjust the baking time. And it was a pretty good thing I didn’t make a bigger cake because Mike polished off the entire thing (save one teensy slice I had) in a day and a half!
Breaking It Down
Ingredients Explained
In this section I explain the ingredients and give substitution ideas where applicable. For the full recipe (including the ingredient amounts), see the recipe card below.
Scented Sugar Syrup Ingredients
- Sugar – Regular granulated white sugar.
- Water – Here we’re making what is called a “rich” simple syrup, which is a 2:1 ratio of sugar:water, instead of the regular ratio of 1:1.
- Fresh lemon juice – This helps prevent the sugar syrup from crystalizing.
- Orange blossom water – Orange blossom water is commonly used in the Middle East to flavor simple syrup for desserts. Rose water is another good option, and so is vanilla.
Cake Ingredients
- Tahini – We use a little bit of tahini to grease the baking pan.
- Almond flour – You can also use almond meal, but the cake will have a bit more of a “rustic” texture.
- Arrowroot starch and tapioca starch – When making paleo and/or gluten free cakes, these two starches help yield a tender crumb.
- Baking powder – This gluten free cake still needs a leavening agent (here, baking powder) to achieve the perfect soft, cakey consistency.
- Salt – For balance and to elevate the flavor of everything else.
- Sugar – Our cake only has a little bit of sugar added because most of the sweetness comes from the sugar syrup that’s poured onto the cake after it’s baked.
- Butter – Use unsalted butter at room temperature or slightly melted.
- Milk – Whole milk is my preference here for the richness it adds. However, you can use any kind of unflavored milk you have on hand.
- Unsweetened shredded coconut – This is a classic ingredient in Middle Eastern Basbousa. It lends delicious flavor and chewy texture.
- Blanched almonds – To decorate the top of the cake.
How to Make This Almond Flour Cake Recipe
- Prepare the scented sugar syrup. To do so, add the sugar, water, and lemon juice to a medium, thick-bottomed saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium heat, giving the pan an occasional swirl and skimming off any foam on the surface. Turn the heat down slightly and boil 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the rose water or orange blossom water; let it cool to room temperature while you make the cake.
- For the cake, preheat oven to 375F; brush the tahini on the inside of a 6-inch (15.25 cm) round baking pan.
- Whisk together the almond flour, arrowroot starch, tapioca starch, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Stir in the butter and then the milk until combined, and then fold in the coconut.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread it out evenly; let it sit for 10 minutes.
- Score the batter into 1-inch (2.5 cm) square or diamond shapes with a sharp knife, periodically dipping the knife in hot water and drying it off before continuing to score the batter; place 1 almond in the center of each diamond.
- Bake until the sides and top are golden brown, about 30 minutes. (If the sides are brown but the top isn’t, you can broil the cake for a couple minutes to brown the top.)
- Once out of the oven, cut the cake along the lines you scored. Slowly pour the cooled syrup onto the hot cake. Let the cake sit at room temperature 2 hours to absorb the syrup before serving.
Pro Tip: How to Blanch Almonds
If you can’t find blanched almonds, you can easily make them yourself with whole almonds. Here’s how to do it:
- Place fresh, shelled (raw and unsalted) almonds in a heat-safe bowl.
- Pour in enough boiling water to fully cover the almonds.
- Let the almonds sit for 1 minute, then pour into a mesh sieve, rinse under cold water, and drain.
- Hold one almond at the wide end between your thumb and forefinger and gently squeeze; the skin should slip right off.
Storage
Cool this cake to room temperature, then wrap it with plastic wrap and store it overnight at room temperature. After that, you can store it covered in the fridge for up to 5 days more.
Recipe Tips
- The batter for this cake is fairly stiff and the cake itself should be dry. This is what we want! Because of this, it’s the perfect vessel for soaking up some beautifully-scented sugar syrup.
- Sugar syrup is surprisingly easy to make. If you can boil water, I promise, you’ll have no trouble making it! I flavored my syrup (which is called qater, ‘atr, or attar in Arabic) classically with orange blossom water, but you can switch it up to suit your tastes. However, Mike is partial to orange blossom water, as that’s how he remembers his mom making this dish.
Cutting a Cake Into Diamonds
This type of cake is traditionally cut into pretty little diamond shapes.
There are a couple things to keep in mind when cutting the cake:
- Keep the pieces small because they are very rich.
- You may want to practice how you’ll cut the cake drawing a circle with pen and paper first! And if you want to keep your lines straight, cut along a ruler or straightedge.
In the end, your diamond-shaped slices will still have a homemade (ahem, sloppy) look to them, which I admit, I sort-of love. (Mine always do anyway! This is what we food bloggers like to call “rustic”, lol.)
How to Grease a Cake Pan With Tahini
Because it’s a little different than the norm, I want to mention that I used tahini to grease the pan for this cake.
Butter, clarified butter (ghee), or coconut oil are more common for American cakes. However, my Syrian mother-in-law taught me to grease the cake pan for this type of cake with tahini, so that’s what I always do.
I really enjoy the slight nuttiness that tahini lends to the bottom and sides. I think it’s a good balance to the overall sweetness. However, clarified butter or coconut oil will both work fine here!
To grease a cake pan with tahini, simply dip a paper towel (or clean fingers) into tahini and rub it inside (on the bottom and up the sides) of a cake pan.
More Middle Eastern Dessert Recipes
- Cardamom Saffron Cake (Inspired by the Kuwaiti Cake Qors Oqaily)
- Homemade Apple Walnut Turkish Delight
- Syrian Ice Cream
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Coconut Almond Flour Cake Recipe (Gluten Free Basbousa Cake)
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Ingredients
Scented Sugar Syrup:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 3/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 3/4 teaspoon orange blossom water or rose water
Cake:
- 1/2 tablespoon tahini to grease the baking pan
- 1 cup almond flour
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot starch
- 2 tablespoons tapioca starch
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature or slightly melted
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 tablespoon blanched almonds
Instructions
- Prepare the scented sugar syrup. To do so, add the sugar, water, and lemon juice to a medium, thick-bottomed saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium heat, giving the pan an occasional swirl and skimming off any foam on the surface. Turn the heat down slightly and boil 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the rose water or orange blossom water; let it cool to room temperature while you make the cake.
- For the cake, preheat oven to 375F; brush the tahini on the inside of a 6-inch (15.25 cm) round baking pan.
- Whisk together the almond flour, arrowroot starch, tapioca starch, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Stir in the butter and then the milk until combined, and then fold in the coconut.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread it out evenly; let it sit for 10 minutes.
- Score the batter into 1-inch (2.5 cm) square or diamond shapes with a sharp knife, periodically dipping the knife in hot water and drying it off before continuing to score the batter; place 1 almond in the center of each diamond.
- Bake until the sides and top are golden brown, about 30 minutes. (If the sides are brown but the top isn’t, you can broil the cake for a couple minutes to brown the top.)
- Once out of the oven, cut the cake along the lines you scored. Slowly pour the cooled syrup onto the hot cake. Let the cake sit at room temperature 2 hours to absorb the syrup before serving.
Notes
- Recipe Inspiration: Recipe adapted from the recipe for Coconut Semolina Cake (Harissa) in my cookbook, An Edible Mosaic: Middle Eastern Fare with Extraordinary Flair (Tuttle Publishing; Nov. 2012).
- How to Blanch Almonds: If you can’t find blanched almonds, you can easily make them yourself with whole almonds. (1) Place fresh, shelled (raw and unsalted) almonds in a heat-safe bowl; (2) pour in enough boiling water to fully cover the almonds; (3) let the almonds sit for 1 minute, then pour into a mesh sieve, rinse under cold water, and drain; and (4) hold one almond at the wide end between your thumb and forefinger and gently squeeze; the skin should slip right off.
- Flavorings For the Simple Syrup: For the scented sugar syrup, you can use orange blossom water, rose water, vanilla, or any other extract you like.
- Milk Alternatives: For the milk in the cake, I’ve successfully used whole milk, 2%, and plain unsweetened almond “milk”.
- Greasing the Pan:If you don’t have tahini to grease the cake pan, you can use clarified butter or coconut oil instead.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximate.
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I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
Free Bonus
Good afternoon
Thank you for sharing your Gluten Free alternative to Basbousa.
Instead of milk can I use plain yogurt?
Chely, Thank you for your comment. Yes, instead of 3/4 cup of milk you can use 3/4 cup of regular, unflavored yogurt.
Very tasty and so pretty… but I couldn’t really taste the rose flavour even though I increased it. Maybe the rose water we have here is too diluted… but I also thought maybe the almond flour (tasty but its own thing) dominated a bit.. maybe I’ll try with white cornflour (much cheaper than almond, too) and more rose water next time… Thanks so much for the recipe
This tasted amazing! If I didn’t make it myself I would have thought I was eating the real deal! I grew up with the original Namoura/basboussa/harissa. But I was very recently diagnosed with celiac after a traumatic surgery, and have been absolutely heartbroken about all the Middle Eastern food that I can’t eat anymore. Your picture of this dessert on instagram caught my eye and stopped my scrolling. I immediately went to your website and decided to make it for our Easter dessert. It was a hit!! I only have one question please, I did not have arrowroot starch so I substituted corn starch 1:1. Then I made sure all the butter was evenly incorporated before adding the milk. My mixture was rather watery even after letting it sit for 30 mins. So I couldn’t score it with any kind of diagonal lines. I then partially baked it took it out of the oven and scored it and added the decorative almonds on top then quickly returned it to the oven to finish baking. It still tasted amazing but I would rather avoid that hassle. What did I do wrong? Was the corn starch substitution the culprit or over mixing the butter to incorporate it evenly then adding the milk? I would love to know, since I intend to make it again and again. Thank you for this gluten-free recipe alteration.
Lily, Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment, I’m so happy you enjoyed this cake! When I developed this recipe using arrowroot starch, I also stirred the butter in before stirring in the milk, so I don’t think that’s the issue. My guess is that it’s due to the cornstarch. You could try slightly increasing the amount of cornstarch (maybe use 3 tablespoons cornstarch to replace the 2 tablespoons arrowroot starch, and if you still can’t score the dough, maybe go up to 4 tablespoons cornstarch). I hope this helps! Please let me know how it goes if you try it again with more cornstarch.
I made this with almond milk and monk fruit sugar instead of regular sugar. Smells delicious!
Such a beautiful cake! I am so intrigued about trying tahini as an agent to grease the baking pan. Love that idea.
Sounds like an awesome winter outing you two had – I wish we’d get a good snow here so we could do the same!
I absolutely loved reading this post. Brave souls you are venturing out in the blizzard! It is kind of fun to be out when it’s a winter wonderland isn’t it? And how amazing did your brunch on the patio look? So stunning with all the white fluffiness around,
I am so intrigued by this cake, and so unique that you greased the pan with tahini. I can’t wait to try that. It almost seems like a pound cake, but a little fluffier and more flavor depth. So beautiful, Faith!
Oh wow my mouth is watering, I love almond and coconut and that brunch yum yum. Keep warm and safe Diane
Wow, wow, wow – this cake looks amazing! I can just imagine the sweetness & stickiness to it – perfect with a hot cup of tea. Lovely. I was in DC once for work during a big storm. Not as big as Jonas, but it was still bizarre!
I saw your balcony brunch on IG and it was gorgeous!! Not sure I would have lasted more than 30 seconds, but pretty! This cake sounds wonderful. Perfect baking for a snowy weekend!
This looks so tender and moist, Faith. :-)
I love baking with almond flour and this is such a lovely cake!
Those roses are so pretty and it sounds like I need to start my weekends with this almond cake. Yum!
This is absolutely gorgeous! I could totally wake up to a slice of this!
This is a beautiful cake! Almonds, coconut, rosewater, it sounds amazing.
Looks like the perfect treat! Cannot wait to try this!
A tempting cake. Perfect with a cup of tea…
Cheers,
Rosa