Harrisa

Harrisa / Harrisah / Harressa

This wonderful Middle Eastern Dessert is loved in many Arab countries.   There are many ways in making this dessert as different regions of the Middle East have their own twist on the recipe. This cake does not contain eggs. This can be a vegan dessert by substituting a few ingredients like butter for canola oil and yogurt for coconut milk. I like to serve the Harrisa Cake with either a cup of Arabic Coffee or a nice hot glass of Mint Tea.  
Cake:

4 cups semolina you can find at a local middle eastern market
1 cup unsweetened, coconut flakes
1 cup sugar
2 stick or 16 tbs melted butter 

1 1/2 cup plain yogurt  regular or low fat
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt 
2 tsp Tahini sauce 
35-40 blanched almonds to garnish

Simple Syrup:
2 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 tsp rose water and 1 tsp orange blossom
½ of a lemon juice
Preparation: 

Blanch the Almonds: Boil two cups of water and pour the hot water onto the almonds which are in a bowl.  The almonds should soak for about 15 minutes in the hot water. now the almond skin is ready to be removed.  Just pinch off the skin from the almond and set aside.    
   
Simple Syrup: The syrup has to be at room temperature and the cake should be warm when you pour the syrup over the cake, so you have to prepare the syrup before baking the cake. To make the syrup, boil the sugar, water and lemon juice at medium heat . Stir until the sugar has completely dissolved about 3 to 4 minutes. Then add the rosewater and orange blossom boil until the syrup thickens a little (if you stir with a spoon, it will coat the back of the spoon and if you touch it, the syrup will feel a little thick and sticky). Don't let the syrup boil for a long time and thicken up too much. It will take about 10 minutes to boil the syrup. Once ready, remove from stove and allow to cool at room temperature. 

 
Harrisa Cake: In a large bowl, mix the semolina, sugar, salt and baking powder. Then add the coconut flakes, melted butter and yogurt and mix well with a spoon until combined well and it comes together. The batter will be thick when all ingredients have been combined. Lightly butter a 10 inch cake pan or baking glass dish lightly butter the sides and the bottom at the same time spread the tahini sauce at the bottom of the pan. Spoon in the cake batter and even it out with a spoon. Allow it to rest for 15-20 minutes. Then before baking cut the cake into diamond or squares. Place the blanched almonds in the middle of each diamond/square and gently press them down.

Bake the cake at 350 F in a preheated oven, on the middle rack for about 20 minutes first. Take the cake out and gently cut it into the diamonds/squares again you do not want to cut the cake when it is just out of the oven as the cake could crumble. Once the cake is done, pour 1/2 of the cooled simple syrup slowly and evenly on top of the cake. Once you see the cake soaked up the syrup you can serve. It is best to keep the cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.  I recommend warming up a slice of the cake before serving and adding a teaspoon of the simple syrup. However, it is delicious to serve cold too. Enjoy!