The Canon

Sfouf

صفوفar

Also: Sfof, Turmeric cake, Sfouf bi qrofa

An eggless, oil-based Levantine cake of semolina and flour coloured and flavoured with turmeric, studded with pine nuts and cut into diamonds.

Identity criteria

  1. 1Bright yellow colour from turmeric, not saffron or food dye
  2. 2Eggless and dairy-free — leavened and bound without eggs
  3. 3Semolina gives a characteristic grainy, slightly dense crumb
  4. 4Topped with pine nuts (and often sesame or almonds)
  5. 5Cut into the traditional diamond (lozenge) shapes

Components

Base

Semolina and wheat flouressential

Fat

Vegetable oil (or tahini in some versions)essentialReplaces butter, keeping it dairy-free

Binder

Sugar syrup or sugar and milk-free liquidoptional

Seasoning

Ground turmericessentialGives both colour and earthy flavour; non-negotiable

Garnish

Pine nutsessential

Technique

Oil-batter mixing
Using oil instead of eggs and butter gives a moist, keeping cake suitable for fasting periods
Semolina hydration
Letting the semolina absorb liquid sets the signature grainy yet tender crumb
Diamond cutting
Pre-scoring before or after baking yields the traditional lozenge presentation

Form & serving

Served
Cut diamonds from a baking tray
Temperature
room temperature
Portion
small dessert square
Pairs with
Tea · Arabic coffee · Anise

Character

Flavour

sweetearthynutty

Texture

grainy, moist, semolina crumb

Eaten

A celebratory yet keeping cake, popular during fasting seasons and served in small diamonds with tea or coffee.

When

festive · Lent / fasting periods

Variations & related

Regional variations

  • Sfouf with tahini · Lebanon

    Tahini adds nuttiness and helps grease the pan

  • Sfouf with anise · Syria / Lebanon

    Aniseed scents the batter

  • Lenten sfouf · Levant

    Made deliberately egg- and dairy-free for fasting

Related dishes

  • sibling Namoura

    Another Levantine semolina cake, but butter-rich and syrup-soaked

  • pairs-with Arabic coffee

    Classic pairing

Substitutions

  • Vegetable oil → Tahiniadmissible

    Traditional alternative fat, adds flavour

  • Pine nuts → Slivered almonds or sesameadmissible

    Common topping swaps

  • Turmeric → Yellow food colouringinadmissible

    Colour without the earthy flavour — it is no longer truly sfouf

Common mistakes

  • Adding eggs or butter, which breaks the eggless/dairy-free identity
  • Using too little turmeric so the colour and earthiness are weak
  • Over-baking and drying out the semolina crumb
  • Skipping the semolina rest, leaving a gritty texture

Provenance

A turmeric semolina cake of the Levant, shared between Syria and Lebanon, traditionally eggless for fasting and celebration.

Shared by: Syria, Lebanon

References

  1. 1.Levantine baking tradition
  2. 2.Lebanese and Syrian home-cookery references

Confidence: high