Gers ogaily
Contains egg (no meat or fish)
قرص عقيلي · gers ogaily
A light, airy sponge cake perfumed with cardamom, saffron and rose water and topped with sesame seeds. Bahrain's classic teatime cake, made without butter.
Gers ogaily is a Bahraini cake, ready in about 1 hour 10 minutes and made with egg, saffron and cardamom. It serves 10 and is rated easy to cook.
No licensed photograph of this dish yet.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Rest
- 15 min
- Total
- 1 h 10 min
- Serves
- 10
- Level
- Easy
- Calories
- 181
Method
Step 1
Heat the oven (opens in a new tab) and grease a 23 cm round tin. Whisk the eggs (opens in a new tab) and sugar (opens in a new tab) at high speed until very thick, pale and tripled in volume, about 8 minutes.
How it looks · Photo: Kampus Production on Pexels Step 2
Whisk in the saffron (opens in a new tab) rose water (opens in a new tab) and cardamom (opens in a new tab), then sift over the flour and baking powder (opens in a new tab) and fold in gently with a spatula until no streaks remain.
- 4 min
Fold — don't stir — to keep the air in.
Step 3
Pour into the tin, scatter with sesame seeds (opens in a new tab) and bake until golden and springy and a skewer comes out clean.
- 35 min
- 180°C
- Oven (opens in a new tab)
How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels Step 4
Cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a rack.
- 1 min
About this dish
- Origin
- Bahrain · Commonly attributedConsidered a traditional Bahraini cake; also baked in Kuwait and the UAE.Also popular in Kuwait, United Arab EmiratesMore food from Bahrain
- Dish
- Snack · Dessert · Cakes · Desserts
- Cooking method
- Oven-baked, Whipped
- Taste
- sweet, aromatic / warmly spiced
- Diet
- Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Dairy-free · No nut ingredientsWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
All labels
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · DASH-style - Good for
- Make-ahead
- Cook more with
- Egg · Saffron · Cardamom · Sugar · Rose water · All-purpose flour
- Techniques
- Baking · Emulsification
Allergens
- Contains: Eggsfrom egg
- Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour, baking powder
- Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour, baking powder
- Contains: Sesamefrom sesame seeds
Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.
Nutrition
181 kcal per serving
Estimated1 serving ≈ 66 g · recipe makes 10
Where the energy comes from
- Protein 11%
- Carbohydrate 71%
- Fat 17%
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g* |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 181 kcal | 274 kcal |
| Protein | 5.2 g | 7.9 g |
| Carbohydrate | 32.5 g | 49.1 g |
| Net carbohydrate | 31.8 g | 48.1 g |
| Sugars | 18.1 g | 27.4 g |
| Added sugars | 18 g | 27.2 g |
| Fibre | 0.7 g | 1 g |
| Fat | 3.5 g | 5.3 g |
| Saturated fat | 0.9 g | 1.4 g |
| Trans fat | — | — |
| Cholesterol | 93 mg | 141 mg |
| Sodium | 83 mg | 126 mg |
| Salt equivalent | 0.2 g | 0.3 g |
Vitamins & minerals per serving
- Potassium
- 62 mg
- Calcium
- 53 mg
- Iron
- 1.5 mg
- Magnesium
- 11 mg
- Vitamin A (RAE)
- 40 µg
- Vitamin C
- 0 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.5 µg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.2 µg
- Folate (DFE)
- 65 µg
How these numbers were made
- Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
- *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
- Rose water: Water (FDC 174158); rose water is a distillate with negligible nutrients.
- “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
- Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
Good to know
Serve with
- Serve with Arabic coffee or sweet milky tea.
Storage
- Keeps 3 days in an airtight tin.
Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated
Recipe DNA
How this dish is built
Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.
What the dish is built around
Main ingredient
- Egg, at room temperature5 piece · 250 g
- All-purpose flour180 g
Baker’s notes
Customise in Bread & BakeryTimeline and readiness cues
Mix and knead · about 15 min
Whisk eggs and sugar until pale and thick enough to leave a ribbon trail for 3 seconds.
Bake · about 35 min at 180 °C
Springs back when lightly pressed and is just shrinking from the tin sides.
Cool · about 15 min
Cool on a rack before slicing — the crumb is still setting; cutting hot bread makes it gummy.
- Start to finish: about 1 h 5 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.
If something goes wrong
Gummy or wet crumb
Likely causes
- Under-baked
- Sliced while hot
- Hydration too high for the flour
What to do
- Bake to 93–96 °C inside (cakes: clean skewer)
- Cool completely on a rack before slicing
- Reduce water by 3–5% or use a stronger flour
Collapsed or sunken middle
Likely causes
- Oven door opened too early
- Too much leavening or sugar
- Under-baked centre
- Over-proofed yeast dough
What to do
- Don't open the oven for the first two-thirds of baking
- Measure leaveners exactly with spoons, levelled
- Test the centre before removing
- Proof less
Pale crust
Likely causes
- Oven too cool
- Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
- Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)
What to do
- Check the oven with a thermometer
- Brush with egg wash or milk
- Shorten the fermentation
Burnt bottom
Likely causes
- Tray too close to the heat
- Dark tray absorbs more heat
- Too much sugar in the dough
What to do
- Bake on the middle shelf
- Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
- Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
Cracked or domed top
Likely causes
- Oven too hot (crust sets before the centre rises)
- Too much leavening
- Overmixed batter
What to do
- Lower the oven 10–15 °C
- Use the exact leavening amount
- Fold just until combined
Big holes or tunnels
Likely causes
- Overmixed batter (cakes, muffins)
- Air trapped while shaping bread
- Uneven proof
What to do
- Mix quick breads only until no dry flour shows
- Degas gently and shape tightly
- Proof covered in an even, warm place
Dry or crumbly
Likely causes
- Too much flour (scooped, not weighed)
- Over-baked
- Too little fat or sugar
What to do
- Weigh flour, or spoon it into the cup and level
- Check 5 minutes early
- Don't cut fat or sugar by more than a quarter without another moisture source
Reviews & corrections
Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.
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