The farina cake is a very popular dish and has many different versions throughout the Middle East. In Arabic, it is called basbusa, which means “kiss.” It is very fitting for this particular sweet cake.
I have created my own personal version of the recipe for a few reasons. At home, I use spelt, rather than white or wheat flour, as it is much healthier, creates a better texture and has a sweet, nutty taste that compliments the cake well.
While you bake pound cakes, remember that from the moment the flour is in the mix, the less whisking, the better. This will allow the cake to be airy.
If you have any questions about the recipe, please email us at info@mimishummus.com
Ingredients:
4 brown, organic eggs
125 g sugar
200 g unbleached white flour or organic whole spelt
1 tspn of baking powder
270 g farina
1 c orange juice
lemon zest from one lemon
3/4 c coconut oil
1 c almond meal or bleached, ground almond
1 c sliced almonds
syrup:
1 c honey
3/4 c water
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Method:
Preheat oven to 325F.
Butter a 13”x13” baking pan. Take some sugar and distribute over the butter, then turn the pan over to release excess sugar.
In a bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar and coconut oil for about 2 minutes.
Grate the lemon into the mix and add the cup of orange juice. Whisk for one more minute.
In a separate bowl, mix the white flour, baking powder, farina and almond meal.
Take your dry mix and add it into your first bowl. Whisk until moderately blended.
With a spatula, transfer the mixture into the pan and sprinkle sliced almond evenly over the top.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out dry.
Once you remove the cake from the oven, put all of the ingredients for the syrup in a pot and bring it to a boil.
Lower the heat and cook for another 5 minutes.
Distribute the syrup evenly over the cake.
Keep your covered at room temperature – it will hold well for a week.
Enjoy!