Burmese Semolina Cake Recipes

BURMESE SEMOLINA CAKE (SANWEI MAKIN)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 160˚C / 320˚F and a deep baking dish greased with butter or coconut oil.
• Pop the semolina in a large saucepan over a low to medium heat and dry fry until golden brown (around 5 to 10 minutes). Keep stirring and avoid leaving it unattended or it may burn or cook unevenly.
• Once it's toasty, add in the brown sugar, coconut cream, water, eggs, butter and salt and mix well. You might need a whisk to break up any clumps. The batter will be quite thin at this stage so don't worry.
• Bring the mixture to a boil over a medium high heat and stir continuously. It will start to thicken quickly. Once bubbles start rising through the mixture you can reduce the heat down to low and continue to stir until the mixture thickens and starts to pull away easily from the side of the pan (around 8-10 minutes).
• Once thickened, transfer the batter into baking dish and smooth the surface with an icing spatula or the back of a spoon.
• Sprinkle with poppy seeds, sesame seeds or desiccated coconut and pop in the oven. Bake for around 30-40 minutes until the top is dark golden-brown and the cake has set.
• Slice into squares and serve warm or at room temperature.

BURMESE SEMOLINA CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°. Butter an 8x8" baking dish. Toast semolina in a large dry skillet over medium-high heat, stirring, until darkened and nutty-smelling, about 2 minutes. Let cool.
• Whisk egg, coconut milk, half-and-half, sugar, salt, and 1 tablespoon butter in a large saucepan. Gradually whisk in semolina and bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking, until mixture is very thick and pulls away from the sides of saucepan, about 4 minutes. Scrape batter into baking dish.
• Bake cake until golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 45-50 minutes. Transfer dish to a wire rack. Brush cake with remaining 1 tablespoon butter; let cool slightly. Serve with coconut ice cream, topped with coconut flakes.
• Do ahead: Cake can be baked 1 day ahead; cover and chill.

BANANA SHWE GYE CAKE - {BURMESE SEMOLINA CAKE} RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and set the pan on a foil-lined baking sheet. Roast the semolina in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring, until the color changes, 10 minutes. Combine the coconut milk, enough water to fill 1 coconut milk can, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar and bananas in a large pot and heat over medium heat until barely simmering, about 4 to 5 minutes. Slowly pour in the roasted semolina, mixing well to avoid lumps. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick. Add the butter or margarine while stirring. Pour the batter into the pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is evenly golden brown, 1 hour. Sprinkle the top with the poppy seeds. Place under the broiler and broil 2 minutes. Cool to room temperature, cover and let stand overnight. Cut into diamonds to serve. The cake will be moist, not fluffy. Refrigerate any leftovers. Reheat to room temperature before serving. This recipe yields 6 to 10 servings. Each of 10 servings: 609 calories; 315 mg sodium; 95 mg cholesterol; 38 grams fat; 27 grams saturated fat; 64 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams protein; 1.50 grams fiber.