Mhanncha The Snake Recipes

M'HANNCHA (SNAKE CAKE)

Steps:

• To Make the Orange-Almond Paste:
• 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.
• 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.
• To Assemble the Cake:
• 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.
• 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.
• Repeat to prepare two more phyllo rolls. Add each to the end of the coil on the baking sheet, forming a large coil.
• Combine the egg yolks, water, and cinnamon. Brush the mixture over the top of the cake.
• To Bake:
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden. Remove the cake from the oven, and let cool on the baking sheet.
• To Serve:
• Stir together the confectioners' sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle on the cake, and top with sliced almonds.

M'HANNCHA (THE SNAKE)

Steps:

• Place the almonds, sugar, butter, and cinnamon in a food processor and process to a paste.
• Divide the mixture into 8, place one portion (about 2.5cm/1 inch thick) lengthways down the side of one piece of phyllo pastry, then roll the pastry around the stuffing forming a sausage.
• Coil the sausage to form a snail's shell then set aside and cover with a damp tea towel whilst you repeat with the remaining 7 pieces of pastry.
• Heat the butter in a large frying pan until hot, then fry the pastries until browned on both sides. You may have to do this in batches adding more butter if necessary. Drain on kitchen paper.
• To serve - Sprinkle the pastries with cinnamon and icing sugar. Serve warm or cold.

M'HANNCHA - MOROCCAN SNAKE PASTRY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°.
• Generously butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch cake pan with some melted butter. Unfold the fila and lay it out on the work surface. Cover with plastic wrap and a damp towel to prevent it from drying out.
• To Prepare The Filling: Trim the hard stems from the figs and discard. Place the figs, almond paste, anise seed, lemon zest, sugar and honey in the bowl of a food processor and process until the mixture is very finely chopped. It should not be ground to a homogenous paste. Set aside.
• Place the egg yolks in a small bowl and stir, just to blend.
• To Assemble The Snake Pastry: place a fila sheet on the work surface, with one of the long sides toward you. Brush the surface lightly with melted butter. Place another sheet of fila on top and brush lightly with melted butter. Repeat with one more sheet of filo dough
• Take a fifth of the fig mixture and make a long, even mound with it on the fila, about one inch from the edge nearest you, that extends all the way out to the two short edges of the dough. Fold the bottom of the filo over the filling, then proceed to roll it up, jelly roll fashion, to within one inch of the opposite long edge. Do not try to roll it very tightly or the fila will crack.
• Brush a small amount of egg yolk along the top edge, then continue to roll the dough on top of it, so the seam side is down. Arrange the roll, seam side down, along the outer edge of the buttered cake pan. Brush the inside of the roll with a light coating of egg yolk. Note: It is easier to start from the center of the pan and work out.
• Prepare 4 more rolls as directed above, then place each one in the cake pan, extending the coil by attaching the new roll to the end of the last roll with a dab of egg yolk. Again, brush the inside of each roll with egg yolk so that as the rolls coil around and touch each other, they will adhere to both the roll behind them as well as in front of them - this is very important when slicing the pastry for serving.
• Brush the final roll with egg everywhere except the bottom before you put it in the pan, as the last roll fits snugly and there will not be room to add the egg later. The last roll should curl tightly around itself, filling the center of the pan.
• Brush the top of the pastry evenly with the remaining egg yolk. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a lovely golden color. Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool completely.
• To Unmold: Run a thin sharp knife around the edges of the pan, loosening any filo that may have stuck. Gently set a plate upside down on top of the cake pan, then, holding the pan and plate together, flip the two over. The pastry should slide out onto the plate. Note: If the pastry sticks to the bottom of the pan, place the pan in a hot oven or over a burner for a few seconds, just long enough to warm and loosen the butter and egg, then try turning it out again.
• Place your serving platter upside down on top of the pastry, then flip the two over so that the pastry is right side up. Dust the top of the snake very lightly with powdered sugar and sprinkle the nuts. Use a thin, sharp knife to cut wedges of the pastry, transferring each to a plate using a pie wedge or cake server. Store at room temperature, lightly covered with plastic wrap or foil, for up to 4 days.