Desserts

3 recipes

Kalb El-Louz (Almond-Semolina Cake)

Semolina is mixed with melted butter and rested for 1 hour (hydrates fully). Sugar, eggs, ground almonds, baking powder and orange-flower water are blended in. Poured into a 30 × 22 cm tin; smoothed; scored into diamonds; an almond is pressed into each diamond. Baked for 35-40 minutes till deep gold. A syrup of sugar, water, lemon and orange-flower water simmers separately. Hot syrup is poured over the just-baked cake. Rested at least 4 hours so the syrup absorbs fully.

6 hours 5 minutes Serves24

Tcharek El-Ariane (Almond Crescents)

Almond filling: ground almonds, icing sugar, melted butter, lemon zest, orange-flower water, pulses or kneads to a soft paste. Rolls into ropes 1 cm thick; cuts into 4 cm pieces; each piece tapers slightly at the ends. Dough: plain flour, butter, icing sugar, egg yolk, salt, short shortbread-style. Each almond piece wraps in a small disc of dough; gently shaped into a crescent. Baked pale at 170°C. Dipped briefly in orange-flower syrup; rolled in icing sugar.

1 hour 48 minutes Serves24

Zlabia

A thin yeasted batter, flour, semolina, yogurt, yeast, sugar, water, ferments at room temperature 6+ hours till bubbly. Sugar syrup with rose water + lemon juice + saffron simmers for 5 minutes. Hot oil heats to 175°C. Batter pipes through a small bottle nozzle (or a piping bag fitted with a 5 mm round tip) into the oil in lacy spiral / pretzel shapes. Fries for 2 minutes till deep amber. Lifts directly into the warm syrup; soaks for 30 seconds. Drains.

6 hours 45 minutes Serves20