Besboosa

Soft American-style cake wasn’t very popular in Arabia when we were there. (I don’t know what’s in fashion today.) In that kind of intense parched heat, even the glue in the joints of chairs would dry up and they’d fall apart. It would make short work of an average Betty Crocker butter cake. The desserts that do well there gain their moistness from liberal doses of delicately flavored sugar syrup poured over the top. The most well-known probably being baklava.

Baklava was beyond my skill as a child, but even in elementary school I could be put in charge of making this Middle-eastern cake when company was coming. And even though I wasn’t especially fond of eating it then, I was fascinated by the dramatic foaming when you combine yogurt and baking soda. Cake and a science experiment at the same time! Maybe not as dramatic as a mentos and diet coke volcano, but still intriguing to a girl who enjoyed making potions by mixing everything she could find in the bathroom together in a Dixie cup. Plus, it’s the only way to eat cream of wheat.

Besboosa

1 ½ c yogurt

1 ½ c cream of wheat (semolina)

¾ t baking soda

¾ c sugar

1 stick melted butter

Mix yogurt and soda, add sugar and wheat. Oil 8x8 pan with a little of the butter. Pour batter into the pan. Pour butter over. Bake. Boil 2 c sugar, 1 c water, a little lemon juice or rose water to make syrup. Pour over besboosa while it’s warm. Decorate with blanched almonds before baking if desired. Cut into diamond shapes to serve.

I’ve seen variations with almond flavoring, coconut, orange zest, pistachios, cashews, or walnuts. An easy recipe to experiment with.