algerian sweets and cakes

hello these are some of the best and elegant sweets' recipes that i found realy helpful and i wanted to share with my costomers and friends .

more stunning stuff available at khadija's blog .just visit :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/desserts_by_khadidja/sets/72157603460664689/

Almond Surprises(rezmat laroussa)

Courtesy "Algerian Heritage

Dough (Outer layer)

note I'm using a "measure" which means use the same cup to measure the different ingredients. Could be a cup, 1/2 cup....etc. For instance if you use the "1/2 cup" you would need a 1/4 cup of the clarified butter. Also, I usually use the food processor to make the dough.

3 measures all purpose flour
1/2 measure clarified butter
pinch of salt
1 measure orange blossom water

In a bowl, mix the flour, clarified butter and salt. Work the ingredients between your hands until crumbly. Start adding the orange blossom water slowly until you get dough. It shouldn't be very soft. Add enough water to make dough that is not sticky. If using the food processor, follow the same instructions. Divide the dough into balls and colour each one with the desired food colouring. It takes some time for the colour to get incorporated in the dough, just keep working the dough with your hands and be patient! Keep the dough balls in a Ziploc bag and let them rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature.

Almond Filling

300g ground blanched almonds
180g powdered (confectioner) sugar
1 large egg
Zest of 1 large lemon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix all the ingredients until you form a dough. It shouldn't be sticky to the touch. Form into a walnut size balls and keep in the fridge until ready to use.

Orange blossom & Lemon Syrup

2 cups granulated sugar
5 cups water
1/4 cup orange blossom water
2 TBsp lemon juice
Lemon peels from 1 large lemon

In a sauce pan, mix the sugar, water and the lemon peels. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Off heat add the orange blossom water and the lemon juice. Cover and let completely cool. The syrup should be cold when used.

Preparation of the cookies

Prepare your pasta machine. If you don't have one, you could use a rolling pin, but I don't think the result will be the same since we want the dough to be very thin. Plus, the machine makes the work much easier and faster.
If you want the cookies to be just one colour (like the pink ones I made) there won't be too much work to do, you would put the dough through the machine and roll it out on the thinner setting.
If you want the multi coloured stripped dough, here is what you would do: make strips out of the different coloured doughs. Stuck the strips by alternating the colours. Make sure they are well glued to each other, you could use some water to make them stick (go easy on the water please!). Start rolling the strips on the medium thickness of the machine, and then roll it again on the thinnest setting. While you're rolling and working, use some corn starch to make the dough dry out a little bit. Spread some corn starch on your work surface and lay the rolled out dough. Let it sit for 3 to 5 minutes, then cut out circles about 5 inches in diameter. Let the circles dry out another 5 minutes.
Put in the middle of each circle of dough a ball of filling and close the whole thing gently to form a
surprise package or some kind of a basket. Press gently so the dough in the middle sticks well and won't open up during baking. Be careful not to press hard otherwise the dough will get cut and the filling will come out during baking.
Finish making all the cookies and arrange them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Let the cookies sit for at least an hour before baking. The more they sit the better they will keep their shape while baking.
Bake the cookies in a 320 f preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. They shouldn't get brown at all to keep their nice colour. As soon as they come out of the oven, plunge them in the cold syrup. Let them soak the syrup for 1 to 2 minutes. Arrange the cookies on a cookie rack with a baking sheet underneath it to drain the excess syrup.

Note: You can use Honey thinned with orange blossom water instead of the simple syrup. Just heat the honey and orange blossom water and let the mixture cool. The consistency of the honey should be like simple syrup.

Makrout

Makrout is an Algerian specialty and is the signature cookie for all Algerian celebrations.It is made out of semolina, butter and filled with either ground almonds or dates. It is shaped into diamonds, then fried and immersed in orange blossom flavored honey...........heavenly good!!

These cookies are simple to make, however the key to have a good Makrout is to start with the right semolina: it has to be medium coarse.

Here is the recipe:

Dough:

3 cups Medium coarse semolina.
1 cup melted butter.
1/2 to 1 cup orange blosom water.
1/4 tsp salt.

Filling:

1+1/2 cups ground blanched almonds.
1/2 cup granulated sugar.
Orange blossom water.

Vegetable oil for frying.
Honey and orange blossom water.

Preparation:

Mix the semolina, the salt and the butter. Rubb the mixture well then add the orange blossom water until you form a dough. Don't make the dough too soft otherwise you'll have difficulties when shaping the cookies. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest for 1/2 hour to an hour.
Meanwhile, make the filling: mix the almonds and the sugar then gradually add the orange blossom water until you form a firm paste. Set aside.

To make the cookies, take a portion of the dough, shape it into a rectangle and in the middle put a log of the filling. Close it into a log. Cut into diamonds and set aside.

Heat the oil to a medium heat (about 350). Fry the cookies until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel.

Heat the honey with a little bit of orange blossom water and immerse the cookies in it. Let drain the excess honey.

Every time you want to serve these cookies, repeat immersing them in honey.

How to make best Algerian baklawa recipe

This baklava recipe will show you how to make the best traditional Algerian Baklava. Baklava is a Mediterranean dessert made with Fillo pastries, nuts, butter, and sugar. After baking to perfection, a sweet syrup is immediately poured over the pieces allowing the syrup to be absorbed into the layers.

Baklava varieties contain honey, walnuts, pistachios, pine nuts, almonds, or other nuts common to the Mediterranean and the Middle East. In many countries, baklava is an excellent compliment to coffee. Baklava is used in weddings, family get-togethers, and various other feasts and celebrations.

Ingredients

For the Dough

24 ounces plain flour
310 ml water
233 ml melted ghee, and
oil, mixed 1/2 ghee and 1/4 sunflower or 233 ml vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
18 ounces chopped nuts, use almonds, walnuts, pecans, peanuts (your choice)
128 g granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
2 teaspoons melted ghee
155 ml orange flower water (mazhar)

For the Syrup

310-620 ml honey
155-310 ml orange flower water

310 ml extra of melted ghee, to brush the pastry with and enough whole nuts to decorate each piece of baklawa.

Preparation

Take 1 mixing bowl and place the flour & salt in it. Add the ghee/oil mixture & mix, slowly adding the water. Mix well -- until you have a smooth dough, place this on your work surface - well dusted with cornflour.

Split the dough in half. Make the first 1/2 into golf ball sized pieces. Keep the dough covered with a tea towel.

Take a dough golf ball. If you are comfortable using the pasta machine then just make the ball into a sausage shape and gently roll out with rolling pin to approximately 3-4mm.

Begin passing though pasta machine on thinnest setting. NB : if this is your 1st time you can use the pasta machine on the 2nd to thinnest setting before putting it through on the thinnest.

In you saucepan, melt your ghee on a medium heat. Brush you tray well with ghee using the pastry brush.

Lay you first strip of phyllo pastry vertically in the centre the tray. Brush the pastry with the ghee.

Repeat the dough rolling process. Cover the tray with phyllo, remembering to brush with ghee after each strip. You should be able to do this with 5 strips but don't worry if you use more or less.

Turn the tray round so that you're placing the phyllo strips horizontally over vertical strips. This criss cross is very important so don't forget.

Continue rolling your pastry and layering the tray. Remember the ghee after each strip. Continue doing this until you have done 5 layers.

Prepare you nut filling. Take your food processor and chop up the nuts of your choice until you have the required amount.

Prepare you nut filling. Take your food processor and chop up the nuts of your choice until you have the required amount.

Place the nuts in the 2nd mixing bowl and add the sugar, cinnamon, vanilla powder and mazhar - enough mazhar to make the filling hold but not so much that it's sloppy.

Place filling in the tray over the pastry, gently smoothing it out - but don't press it.

You now need to repeat the dough rolling, layer making stage all over again until you have 6 layers. You will need to use the 2nd half of the dough by now - just make golf balls again! Don't forget the ghee.

When you've finished the 5th layer you can choose how to do the top layer. I always roll out one large sheet by hand by other stick to the pasta machine as a large sheet of phyllo is a bit tricky to create and handle!

If you want to try rolling out a sheet, remember to COVER the dough, rolling pin, surface, your hands etc in LOADS of cornflour. then roll out the the tray size plus 2cm extra.

Now you need to cut the baklawa and decorate.

Take you knife and cut vertical straight lines all the way to the bottom. (Approx. 2cm apart)then spin the tray round and cut more lines but diagonally to form diamond shapes. You can also make squares or triangles but traditional Algerian baklawa are diamonds.

When you've cut the shapes, push a nut into each shape.

Brush well with the ghee and place in a pre-heated oven at 180 c for 1 hour - 1 hour 10 minutes.

The baklawa should be golden and now needs it syrup: Warm the honey and mazhar in the saucepan then pour slowly over the baklawa.

Allow to sit for 10 minutes then cut out pieces and place in paper cases - preferably the metallic ones as they hold the syrup better.