Ketmer (pistachio, cream and rose-filled pastry – pictured above)
Prep 5 min
Cook 1 hr
Makes 6
For the filling
100g double cream
100g mascarpone
100g ground pistachio
For the pastry
6 large sheets filo pastry (ie, just under ½ pack) or 12 small sheets
100g melted butter or ghee
For the syrup
100g sugar
50g water
1 tsp rose water
Using a spoon, stir the cream and mascarpone together until they thicken but don’t whip.
Heat the oven to 210C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. Carefully open the filo pack. If using large sheets, lightly butter the top half of each sheet, then fold it over lengthways so you get a rectangle of double thickness (if using small sheets, butter six of them and layer another sheet on top of each). Using a spoon, spread the cream mix over the bottom half of each buttered rectangle, sprinkle with the ground pistachios and very lightly roll up, keeping plenty of air in the roll, so you end up with a loose snake. Roll into a coil, to create a snail shape, then tuck the end just under the snail to seal. Put the snails on a baking tray with a rim (so the syrup won’t run off later), keeping them close together, then generously brush with all the remaining melted butter.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden all over. Meanwhile, make the syrup by boiling the sugar and water, stirring to dissolve, then turn off the heat and add the rose water.
Once the ketmer are golden, remove from the oven, pour all the syrup over the top and leave to soak in for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or cold – they’re tasty both ways.
Spiced almond baklava
Prep 5 min
Cook 1 hr
Makes 12
1 pack large filo sheets (ie, 14 sheets) or 2 packs small sheets
For the filling
200g whole roasted almonds, finely chopped (but not ground)
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
100g soft light brown sugar
For the syrup
250g sugar
4 cardamom pods, cracked
150g water
1 tbsp orange blossom water
Lightly butter the top half of one filo sheet and fold it over lengthways, so you have a double-thickness rectangle. Butter the top half of the rectangle, fold over lengthways and put on a baking tray with a rim in which it fits exactly – if need be, cut the filo to fit. Repeat with six more sheets, laying them in the tin, and buttering between each additional layer. Butter, fold and stack the remaining seven sheets, but don’t put them in the tin just yet.
Mix all the filling ingredients, spread them over the filo in the tin, then lay the second stack of buttered filo on top and press down. Chill in the fridge for at least 20 minutes to set the butter – this means you’ll be able to cut the baklava neatly before baking. Heat the oven to 210C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. Take the set baklava from the fridge and, with a small, sharp knife, cut lengthways down the middle through to the bottom. Cut each of the two rectangles into three square boxes, then cut each into rectangles.
Bake for 18-22 minutes, until golden all over. Meanwhile, make the syrup by boiling the sugar, cardamom and water until dissolved, then turn off the heat and stir in the orange blossom water. Remove the baklava from the oven, pour over the syrup and leave to soak in. Serve warm or cold.
Basbusa
Prep 5 min
Cook 1 hr 15 min
Makes 1 x 23cm cake
500g semolina
50g desiccated coconut
320g sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of ½ lemon
160g milk
160g mixed nuts, to garnish – whole walnuts, pistachios, almonds, hazelnuts or whatever takes your fancy
For the sugar syrup
250g sugar
300g water
Juice of ½ lemon
Heat the oven to 190C (180C fan/390F/gas 6. Lightly grease a 23cm cake tin – don’t use a loose-bottomed one, or the syrup will run out later; if you wish, line it with baking paper, too, though it’s not essential.
Mix the semolina with the coconut, then pour in the melted ghee, mixing all the time, until the mix comes together in a breadcrumb-like consistency. Add the sugar, lemon zest and juice, then fold in the milk until you have a thick batter – don’t overmix. Pour swiftly into the baking tin, and tap to even it out – if you overwork it or wait too long, the mix thickens and becomes too dense. Scatter the whole nuts on top – we like to keep them in clean, straight lines, but a messy scattering is fun, too – then bake in the centre of the oven for 24-28 minutes, until just set and golden, but not too firm (the semolina will continue to drink the moisture from the cake).
While the cake is baking, make the sugar syrup by bringing the sugar and water to a boil and stirring to dissolve. Off the heat, add the lemon juice and set aside until the cake is baked.
As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, drench it all over with the syrup and leave to soak up – you can make little skewer piercings in the surface of the cake, if you wish, so it soaks in faster, but patience works just as well. Leave to rest for at least 30 minutes and serve at room temperature.
Date and walnut maamool
Prep 15 min
Cook 30-40 min
Makes 20 large cookies
For the dough
220g plain flour
40g icing sugar
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground mahleb – look in continental and Middle Eastern stores
½ tsp ground ginger
140g butter or ghee (clarified butter), at room temperature
1 pinch salt
2-3 tbsp milk
For the filling
180g medjool dates, stoned and chopped
180g walnuts, roasted and chopped
50g date molasses, or honey
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground cardamom
Put all the ingredients for the dough apart from the milk in a mixer bowl with a paddle attached (or use the rubbing method, if mixing by hand). Slowly mix in the milk until the dough just starts to come together into a lovely, smooth ball – you may not need all the milk – then remove from the bowl and divide the dough into 20 balls, each weighing about 20g.
Mix all the filling ingredients to form a rough, solid mass and divide into 20 balls, each weighing about 15g.
For shaping, you have a few options: press a hole into each dough ball with your finger, thin it out until you have a small bowl shape, then pop in the filling, close the pastry around it, and pinch it together neatly; or roll out the dough into a long rectangle, pop the little filling balls on the bottom rim, fold the pastry over the top (like when making ravioli) and cut around each mound; or use a cookie press to flatten the dough into the mould, pop in the filling, close the top side, press down and tap out the cookie (this last one is for really lazy people). Bake at 190C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6 for 15-18 minutes, until the pastry just starts to go golden – you want maamool to be rather light in colour. Serve the cookies just as they are, or dust with a little icing sugar before serving.
• Recipes by Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich, chefs/co-owners Honey & Smoke and Honey & Co, both in London.
