Sfouf (Turmeric Cake)
Updated Mar 17, 2026
Sfouf is a Middle Eastern semolina turmeric cake, made with simple ingredients, no eggs and no butter. It's vegan-friendly, and quick to make
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Jump to Section
Lebanese Turmeric Cake
Sfouf is an arabic word that means lines, and because this Lebanese Turmeric Cake is cut into lines, it became known as Sfouf. I learned how to make this semolina-based turmeric yellow cake from my mom because it was her go-to recipe whenever visitors were coming to our house with short notice. She can whisk the ingredients together in 5 minutes and then bake it in 30 minutes. It’s that simple and just needs a few ingredients!
Happy Baking!
– Yumna
Sfouf Ingredients
- Dry ingredients: All-purposed flour, semolina and baking powder. You can play around with the ratio of the semolina and all-purpose flour but I like a 3:1 ratio of semolina to flour for a more coarse texture. Make sure to use fine semolina, which is what’s used to make pasta.
- Wet ingredients: Granulated sugar, milk and a neutral oil
- Tahini: A unique step about this sfouf recipe is how we coat the pan. Instead of just using cooking spray or oil, we use tahini. This serves two purposes: first it coats the pan with something oily so the batter doesn’t stick to the pan. And second, it gives the cake a nutty flavor that is pretty iconic of the cake.
- Pine Nuts: The cake is topped with pine nuts for decorative purposes but also to give it a nutty crunch. You can use silvered almonds – just make sure they are raw since they will be getting roasted in the oven.
How to Make Sfouf
Bake until the top is set and lightly golden and the nuts are lightly golden.
RECIPE VIDEO TUTORIAL
I recently retested the sfouf recipe and preferred baking it at 350°F instead of 375°F like shown in this video. Both temps are fine though and you just need to pay attention to the doneness cues: toothpick comes out clean, edges pull away from pan and the pine nuts start to become golden.
Sfouf (Turmeric Cake)
Video
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 1 ½ cups fine semolina flour
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon turmeric
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup whole milk
- ½ cup neutral oil (like avocado oil or vegetable oil)
- ¼ cup pine nuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×9-inch baking pan with the tahini.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the semolina, flour, turmeric, and baking powder.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar, milk and oil until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is well blended.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until smooth and bright yellow. Transfer the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle the pine nuts over the top.
- Bake for 30–35 minutes, until the top is set and lightly golden and the nuts are lightly golden but not brown.
- Cool completely on a wire rack, then cut into 16 squares or diamond shapes.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Recipe Tips
- Whisk the wet ingredients well. Since the sugar gets mixed right into the milk and oil, it helps to whisk until it looks well blended so the batter bakes up evenly.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Stir just until the dry ingredients disappear and the batter looks smooth. Overmixing can make the cake more dense than it should be.
- Watch the pine nuts closely. The sfouf should look set and lightly golden on top, but the pine nuts can go from golden to too dark fast near the end of baking.
FAQs
Sfouf can turn out dry if it’s overbaked or if the flour and semolina were measured too heavily. Try spooning the flour into the measuring cup and leveling it off, and pull the cake out as soon as the top is set and lightly golden.
If the batter is a little thin or the pine nuts are pressed down too much, they can sink as the cake bakes. Try sprinkling them gently over the top without pressing them in, and make sure the batter is mixed well so it has some body before it goes into the pan.
Comments
It’s presentable, I will definitely give it a try
Hope you enjoy it!
Hello I like your recipes very much. Just a question, what do you mean by neutral oil? What kind of oils can we use?
Good question! Neutral oils are oils with very little flavor. I like using avocado oil or vegetable oil. Hope that helps!
Update: Second attempt was a success. I used parchment paper and managed to un-mold the cake very easily. I added rose water. I love this cake because it feels very new to me. Like I’m discovering a hidden secret. Because you never see it on Lebanese restaurant menus or in K’nefeh shops. It kind of makes me think of Lent, I don’t know if that makes sense. In Greece there are these very elaborate “fasting calendars” which indicate which days you are allowed to consume dairy, egg … be vegan or eat fish, etc., etc. And Sfouf somehow reminds me of that calendar. I should tell my Greek friends about it.
Yay, so glad it was a success and that you love it!! Sounds like your Greek friends would like the cake too, thank you for sharing it with them!
Hi Yumna! Thanks so much for this recipe. Ever since I had a great success with your olive oil lemon cake, I’ve had the Sfouf cake on my to-do list. I’m enjoying it right now with tea. It tastes so good (and unique) and has a beautiful texture. But I made a mistake, which would probably be very useful information for some readers: I tried to get the cake out of the pan while it was still hot. Unlike other cakes, which come right off (since my pan is non stick), this cake was stubborn. Wouldn’t slip out. Maybe in part due to the Tahini. So I flipped it on to the cooling rack and started banging on the sides to un-mold it… And it broke and crumbled! So moral of the story is wait for it to completely cool down before un-molding. And probably do it gently. Even though it crumbled, it is a pleasure eating it with a spoon. For a cake to just be flavored with turmeric is something very new to me and pleasantly surprising. I am about to have the last bite now.
I’m so happy you loved it, Adam! Thanks for sharing the cooling tip, that will be very helpful for others!!
I like the taste of turmeric but it was a little bit too much for me. However, the texture and the sweetness were spot on. Thanks for sharing this recipe and your culture with us.
So happy you liked it, Mota! You’re welcome!!
Hiya. Can this be made into cupcakes please? Thank you ☺️
Good question! I haven’t tried making this cake into cupcakes but I think it would work. I will say, they may not rise as much as you might hope/expect a cupcake would. But please let me know how they turn out if you end up trying it!!
I just made cupcakes with the recipe. They are great. Rose well
This looks delicious! I’m planning to make this for my Lebanese boyfriend’s birthday. How much rose water would your mother usually add to it? We both love that flavor and I think it would be a nice touch.
Aww, I love that you’re making this cake for your boyfriend’s birthday! My mom adds 1-2 tablespoons of rose water with the wet ingredients. Hope you both enjoy!!
Just wondering why rose water isn’t listed in the ingredients? I want to make this for my boyfriend for valentines (he’s lebanese) and I’d like it to be authentic.
Hi! That’s such a sweet idea for Valentine’s Day. Rose water isn’t listed because it’s really a personal preference in sfouf. Some really love the floral note, and others don’t use it at all. Both versions are considered authentic. If you’d like to include it, you can add it in with the wet ingredients. My mom usually adds about 1 to 2 tablespoons, depending on how pronounced she wants the flavor. I’d start with 1 tablespoon and go from there since it can get strong quickly. He’s going to be so impressed you made this for him, Adele!
Sounds delicious! Does it matter what type of milk? Soy, cow, almond, oat…
Thank you!
Yes, any milk you prefer will work!
Looks great. Could we substitute whole wheat flour or cake flour?
Hi there, I’m afraid that wouldn’t work out well, semolina is key to the texture of this particular cake.
See All Comments