M'hanncha (Snake Cake)
A traditional Moroccan dessert made with layers of phyllo dough filled with spiced almond paste and shaped into a coiled snake-like shape. This sweet pastry combines almonds, orange blossom water, and warm spices for a delightfully aromatic treat.
Ingredients
- •3 cups almonds
- •¾ cup confectioners sugar
- •¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- •¾ cup unsalted butter
- •2 whole egg yolks
- •1 tablespoon orange-flower water
- •1 tablespoon orange juice
- •1 tablespoon grated orange zest
- •1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- •12 sheets phyllo dough
- •¾ cup unsalted butter
- •2 whole egg yolks
- •1 tablespoon water
- •½ teaspoon cinnamon
- •¼ cup confectioners sugar
- •¼ cup sliced almonds
Cooking Instructions
- 1.
Combine the almonds, confectioners' sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom in a food processor or blender and pulse to grind into a coarse meal. Add the butter and egg yolks and pulse until blended. Scrape the paste into a bowl, and stir in the orange-flower water, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla. Divide the paste into 12 balls, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
35 min
- 2.
Set the balls on a work surface dusted with confectioners' sugar. Roll each one into a 3 1/2-inch-long log. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
35 min
- 3.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a large baking sheet. Dust a work surface with confectioners' sugar. Place a sheet of phyllo pastry on the sugared work surface, and fold it in thirds to form a 4- by 17-inch rectangle. Brush the sheet with melted butter. Add another folded phyllo sheet, brush with butter, and repeat, until you have four buttered sheets.
15 min
- 4.
Set four orange-almond paste logs in a row down one long end of the phyllo, and roll the pastry up over them into a cylinder. Fold over the ends and brush on some melted butter to seal the seams. Shape the cylinder into a small, tight coil and place on the baking sheet, seam side down.
10 min
- 5.
Repeat to prepare two more phyllo rolls. Add each to the end of the coil on the baking sheet, forming a large coil.
15 min
- 6.
Combine the egg yolks, water, and cinnamon. Brush the mixture over the top of the cake.
5 min
- 7.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden. Remove the cake from the oven, and let cool on the baking sheet.
20 min
- 8.
Stir together the confectioners' sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle on the cake, and top with sliced almonds.
5 min
