Traditional namoura is a Lebanese semolina cake that has been soaked in a lemon, rosewater and honey syrup. Gluten free namoura follows a traditional recipe, replacing the semolina with cornmeal.
Gluten free namoura is a simple cake with a rich and full flavour that improves with time. It is the perfect way to cap off a Middle Eastern inspired meal. Serve this rich cake with a cup of Lebanese coffee and cultured whipping cream.
Gluten Free Namoura
This is a traditional Lebanese namoura made with a gluten free twist! It is rich and sweet with the flavours of lemon, rosewater and honey.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: Serves 16 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Fermented
- Cuisine: Lebanese
Ingredients
Scale
Cake
- 2 cups cornmeal
- 1 1/2 cups yogurt
- 2 tbsp butter (melted)
- 2 eggs
- 1 lemon (zest and juice)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
Syrup
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup sugar (optional -see notes)
- 1/4 cup water
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp rose water
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Mix the cornmeal and yogurt in a large glass bowl. It is best if the cornmeal is left to soak and ferment for at least 2 hours and up to 12 hours. The liquid should be completely soaked into the cornmeal before the rest of the ingredients are added.
- When ready to bake, mix all of the remaining cake ingredients.
- Grease a 9″ x 7″ baking dish, and pour in the cake batter.
- Score the top of the cake, cutting into square. Dot the top of each square with a whole almond.
- Bake at 450 F for 20-25 minutes. The cake should be cooked through and the edges will be golden.
- While the cake cooks, mix the honey, sugar and water together in a sauce pan
- Bring to a boil and simmer until the sugar is dissolved.
- Once the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and stir in the butter, rosewater and lemon juice.
- Allow the sauce to cool to room temperature. It should thicken as it cools.
- Pour the cooled sauce over the cake as soon as it has finished cooking. You want the cake to still be hot so it can absorb the honey sauce.
Notes
- To make a sugar free namoura, replace the 1/2 cup of sugar with 1/4 cup of honey. The sauce won’t thicken in the same way as it does with sugar, but it will still taste delicious!
- Feel free to replace the yogurt with buttermilk or milk kefir. The acidity will help break down the corn making it more semolina-like.
Keywords: semolina, namoura, soaked, Middle Eastern, Gluten free, cornmeal, almond, refined sugar free
Can you make this recipe with semolina instead of cornmeal?
Yes! This recipe is a GF version of a traditional semolina cake. However, I haven’t tried it (because I’m GF) so if you do, let me know how it goes!
Hello, I attempted to make the cake but it turned out very thick, solid in fact. Which type of cornmeal do you use? I used FINE and expect that to be the mistake…
Thank you
I did use coarse cornmeal and will update the recipe accordingly. However, it will always be a bit dense. It’s a honey-soaked cake and is best eaten like a pudding, not like a sponge cake. Cheers!
This recipe might be good but the ingredients and directions are vague. Do not use coarse corn meal, do not use Greek yogurt….I found this out the hard way taking this to a Lebanese inspired dinner party in which gf guests were participating. There is no sweetener in the cake portion of the recipe (unless I overlooked it). Results were very heavy, very dry and not sweet. Sorry to say, tasted like dry cornbread. Epic failure for me 🙁
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Hi Liz, The cake is a dense cornbread and all the moisture and sweetness comes from the syrup that is poured over top. I wonder if you included the syrup? It really is key to this recipe! I will take another look at the instructions again soon.
Cheers, Emillie