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.

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Delightful…! Preposterous…! Brioche Feuilletée

Tags

Bertinet, brioche, Feuilletee, Hamelman, Hazelnut, Pistachio

When I first got my iPad, I became addicted for a while to a game called Cruel Jewels. It was very amusing the way a kind of posh butler would comment with increasing excitement on how well you were doing. A good move might earn a “Delightful!”, a better one a more enthusiastic “Splendid!”, but if you had done particularly well he would work himself up to an almost hysterical “Absurd! Preposterous!! INCONCEIVABLE!!!”

I fear that some people might view this Brioche Feuilletée recipe in the same light. For it takes a dough that is already very rich, packed as it is with eggs and butter, and adds yet more butter in the form of a croissant-style lamination. The dough is then wrapped around a rich nutty filling, and finally the loaf is glazed with apricot jam, drizzled with icing and sprinkled with more nuts.

I also made… all sorts of things

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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.

A Duo of Italian Biscuits

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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.

Biscotti al Pistacchio

Tags

Biscotti, Biscuit, italian, Pistachio

The crackled outside of these biscuits allows you to glimpse the luscious green interior, in which the subtle flavour of pistachio is enhanced by honey, lemon and vanilla.