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Sfouf
Sfouf: golden turmeric and semolina cake with anise and pine nuts
Sfouf is the bright yellow cake you find in every Lebanese bakery window and in plastic tubs at village coffee mornings, cut into diamonds and eaten with tea or a small cup of coffee. Turmeric gives the colour, aniseed and a little mahlab the perfume, and semolina a soft, slightly sandy crumb. Many families make it without eggs or dairy for Lent, and this version is fully plant-based, so it is not the site's eggless coconut-yogurt semolina cake. The tin is greased with tahini, a Beirut habit that gives the base a nutty crust. Chef's tip: use only the turmeric listed; more turns the cake bitter and slightly medicinal.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 16
Ingredients
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan). Spread 2 tbsp tahini thickly over the base and sides of a 30 × 23 cm tin.
Step 2: In a large bowl whisk 10 ½ oz fine semolina, 4 oz plain flour, 8 oz sugar, 1 ½ tsp ground turmeric, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp ground aniseed and ½ tsp ground mahlab until the colour is even, with no streaks of turmeric.
Step 3: Rub ¾ cup sunflower oil into the dry mix with your fingers for 2 minutes, until it looks like damp sand; this coats the semolina and keeps the crumb tender.
2 minStep 4: Pour in 1 ¼ cups unsweetened oat or soya milk and stir just until smooth. Overmixing is the common mistake: it makes sfouf dense and rubbery. Pour into the tin and level the top.
1 minStep 5: Leave for 10 minutes so the semolina swells, then lightly score the top into diamonds and press a 1 ⅜ oz pine nuts or blanched almonds kernel into the centre of each.
10 minStep 6: Bake for 30–35 minutes, until golden at the edges, springy in the middle and a skewer comes out clean.
35 minStep 7: Cool completely in the tin before cutting along the score lines. It keeps for 4 days in an airtight tin.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 230 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 32 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sfouf take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 16 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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