Maamoul: Fragrant Middle Eastern Pastries

Tags

Date, Fig, Maamool, Maamoul, Mahlab, Mahlep, Mastika, Pistachio, semolina, Walnut

How a cake or a biscuit or a loaf looks is important to me. Maybe not as important as how it tastes, but almost. So if I see a recipe that requires a special mould or tin or contraption to make it I find it very hard to resist the temptation to rush out and buy it. This is all too clear from my collection of madeleine and friand trays, biscuit and moon cake presses, and tins for bundts, pandoro, angel cake, milk loaf, and more. At present I am trying very hard not to buy a set of copper cannelé moulds. I might succeed. I might not. Watch this space.

Anyway, when I saw David Lebovitz’s post about the glorious pastries on offer at Al Bohsali in Lebanon, I knew I just had to buy a Maamoul mould. That, as it turned out, was quite a challenge in the UK. Using the thing was quite a challenge too. But more of that later.

These fragrant little pastries are found in Lebanon and several other countries of the Middle East and beyond. A filling of nuts, dates or figs is enclosed in a beautifully sculpted case of crumbly semolina pastry. I won’t lie; they are not the easiest or quickest things to make. But they are definitely rather special, and well worth the effort.

E Questo è un Bacio…?

Tags

baci di dama, Biscotti, mandorle, nocciole, quanti modi di fare e rifare

An English version of this post will be found here.

I Baci di Dama sono l’oggetto della sfida di questo mese su Quanti Modi di Fare e Rifare, il gruppo on-line di cucina al quale sono stato felice di aver partecipato per quasi un anno. La ricetta è stata fornita da Artù, il cui bellissimo blog merita una visita per i tanti tipi di specialità regionali che ci regala. Lei ci informa che “i baci di dama sono dolcetti tipici Piemontesi, furono chiamati così perchè la loro forma creata con due calotte semisferiche ricordavano le labbra intente a baciare”.

You Call That A Kiss?

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Almonds, baci di dama, Biscotti, Biscuits, blanching, hazelnuts, lady's kisses, quanti modi di fare e rifare, skinning, toasting

Una versione italiana di questo post si trova qui.

Baci di Dama, or Lady’s Kisses, are a speciality of the Italian region of Piemonte. Crunchy and nutty, and sandwiched with chocolate, they are traditionally made with hazelnuts, but are also often made with almonds. I couldn’t decide which I fancied most, so I decided to try both.

A Plate of Traditional Biscuits

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Bourbon, custard creams, Jammie Dodgers, jammy dodgers, Marzipan spacers, rolling pastry evenly, rolling soft dough

I thought it was fitting that Signor Biscotti should end the year with some biscuits, although these are not Italian biscuits, but are instead about as British as you can get.

These Jammie Dodgers, Bourbons and Custard Creams are far more exciting than those that you would find on the supermarket shelves. With the possible exception of the Custard Creams, they look much more glamorous than their commercial counterparts, and they smell good too. They have a delicate, light, crunchy texture and, last but not least, are richly flavoured.

I also made… all sorts of things

Tags

Almond, baps, bourbon biscuits, breton, brioche, Cardamom, Ciabatta, cinnamon buns, coconut, custard creams, easy almond cake, elderflower, epi, focaccia, frangipane, genovesi, gingerbread, jammy dodgers, melting moments, milk loaf, pear, Pistachio, plaited loaf, rolls, salted caramel, shaped rolls, shortbread, SIcilian Bread, soda bread, tarts, tiger bread, tosca cake

Life has been pretty hectic recently and it looks set to remain so for at least another month. As a result, I haven’t found much time to blog. So I thought I would publish a gallery of things that I have baked but haven’t got around to blogging about yet, as a taster of what is to come on Signor Biscotti.

To view the gallery, click on any of the images below.

Vanilla Palmiers

Tags

Puff pastry, Sugar, Vanilla

I don’t know why I’ve never made these before. They are simple to make, pretty to look at and delicious to eat, with their buttery crunch enriched by vanilla.

Simple and effective you might say, which could well be my motto when it comes to presentation of my bakes. Nothing too fancy for me.

Ring Biscuits with Cardamom – Ciambelline al Cardamo

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Biscotti, Biscuits, Cardamom, Vanilla

These may not be the most glamourous of biscuits to look at, but waft one under your nose, and you won’t be able to resist the heavenly aroma of cardamom. They have a lovely crunchy texture too, enchanced by their coating of sugar. Think Kulfi (Indian ice cream) in biscuit form.

I Also Made… Lemon Drizzlers

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Beurre noisette, Brown Butter, Drizzle, lemon

In a recent post, Little Loaf got rather excited about brown butter. Very excited, in fact. So excited that I thought “I will have what she’s having!”

Rich Almond Biscotti

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Almonds, Amaretto, Biscotti, cantucci

These are a petite variation on traditional Biscotti di Prato (otherwise known as Cantucci or even Cantuccini). But what they lack in size they certainly make up for in flavour, with toasted almonds enchanced by Amaretto and a subtle undertone of aniseed.

A Duo of Italian Biscuits

Tags

Almond, Biscuit, Pistachio

Two Italian biscuits I have posted recently go rather well together on a plate, and also make a good taste combination. They are Biscotti alle Mandorle Amare (Bitter Almond Biscuits) and Biscotti al Pistacchio.