Mhencha(Moroccan almond pastry)

Prep: 15 Minutes

Cook: 15 Minutes

Ingredients

2 pounds of raw almonds

1 pound of phyllo dough

9 oz of sugar

9 oz of butter

5 oz of powdered sugar

1 teaspoon of orange blossom water

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon of gum Arabic

A pinch of nutmeg

1 egg

Frying oil

Step-By-Step Preparation

-Blanch the almonds, then deep fry them until they turn golden brown.

-Allow oil to be absorbed by a paper towel.

-Set aside a little bit of fried almonds and grind the rest of them in batches with a bit of sugar.

-Melt the butter, then add it gradually to the ground almonds and the rest of the ingredients, except for the egg.

-Cut all of the phyllo dough sheets in half circles. Lay each individual sheet flat on the work surface, then lay another sheet on top in a way that it covers half of the first one, leading to a long line of phyllo sheets.

-Place spoonsful of the almond paste on the straight edge of the pastry sheet, all along, and then start to roll it all into a large cylinder. -now, roll the cylinder around itself so as to form a spiral (snake shape as show on the picture).

-whisk the egg and brush the top of the m’hencha with it. You may brush it with some butter as well.

-Bake in a preheated 350-degree F oven for 15 minutes until the mhencha is golden brown. -Set aside, and drizzle with honey and sprinkle crumbled almonds.