Sfouf
Sfouf is a delicious Lebanese turmeric cake made with semolina, anise and turmeric. It's an easy eggless cake that comes together without a mixer. It's perfect with coffee for breakfast, an afternoon treat or a light dessert!
Servings: 16 pieces
Calories: 216kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons tahini for greasing the pan, or use butter or baking spray
- ¾ cups semolina coarse or fine semolina
- 1¼ cups all purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon anise seed powder
- 1 tablespoon turmeric
- 1 cup whole milk
- ½ cup vegetable oil or canola oil
- 1⅓ cup granulated sugar or use up to 1½ cups sugar
- ½ teaspoon orange blossom water or rose water, optional
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds or pine nuts or almonds
Instructions
- Brush the bottom and sides of a 9 inch square pan with tahini. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 F.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk to combine the semolina, flour, turmeric, ground anise, and baking powder. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, oil, orange blossom water and sugar until the sugar has dissolved.
- Add the the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Stir with a spatula until combined. Avoid overmixing.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the sesame seeds evenly over top.
- Bake for 24-29 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cake.
- Allow to cool completely before slicing.
Notes
Semolina: Use coarse or fine semolina. Semolina is durum wheat that's used to make pasta. I don't recommend leaving out semolina since it helps give sfouf its delicious texture.
Tahini: The pan for sfouf is traditionally greased with tahini. Tahini prevents sfouf from sticking to the pan. It also adds extra richness and flavor to the base of the cake. Instead of greasing the pan with tahini, grease it with butter or spray it with baking spray.
Oil: Swap in coconut oil, avocado oil, safflower or even a light olive oil in place of canola or vegetable oil. For added richness and flavor, you can also use melted butter.
Milk: For a vegan option, you can use any plant based milk.
Sugar: For a more traditional taste, use 1 and 1/2 cup sugar.
Nuts: Instead of sesame seeds, top sfouf with pine nuts, blanched almonds or slivered almonds, or chopped walnuts.
Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 6 days or in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Nutrition
Serving: 1piece | Calories: 216kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.05g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 47mg | Potassium: 73mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 26IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 1mg
