M'hanncha...Moroccan Snake Cake...

Got a black magic woman.

Got a black magic woman.

I got a black magic woman.

Got me so blind I can't see

That she's a black magic woman

Tryin to make a devil out of me.

In Saudi, wives object to them as housemaids. In North Africa, some boys are branded with a magical talisman as protection from these women. It's reputed they can put something in a man's tea and he will forget his wife, his children and give away all his money.  They have spectacular gowns, drive expensive cars, and own villas back home. Who are these temptresses with the formidable hips and magical powers? Morocco girls of course.

If you google this topic, you will find threads galore swearing Moroccan women lure men into marriage using magic. But you will also find many threads swearing they don't, that the ladies of Marrakesh just know how to treat a man...whatever that means. Here in Salalah, there is no debate among the locals. A Morocco girl will capture your heart and your wallet if you aren't careful. 

I think they are beautiful. Yes, some of them are working girls, but meh. Perhaps this has far more to do with lack of access to higher education? Just sayin. All the Moroccan women I've met here have been nothing but kind to me. Several of them  attended my wedding and rocked the hotel in their finery. I got no complaints. But I still watch out for who hands my husband his coffee. 

Antique Photograph of Moroccan Lass (stock photo)

For a taste of Morocco

M'hanncha

*Disclaimer: This is absolutely not my recipe or my words. I used a recipe I found on SoupAddict. Follow the above link to her blog.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 eggs
2 cups almond flour*
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons rose water
zest from one lemon
zest from one orange
1/3 cup pistachios, chopped or roughly ground
9 sheets of filo dough (plus extra for repairs)
granulated sugar, for sprinkling
rosebuds, for garnish (optional)

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs. The mixture will look quite broken and curdled. Stir in the almond flour, which will pull everything together quite nicely.

3. Add the all-purpose flour, rose water and zests, stirring to incorporate. Finally, add the pistachios to the almond paste.

4. On a long, clean work surface**, line up five of the filo sheets, lengthwise, end-to-end (short ends touching). Lay the remaining four sheets on top, staggering so that the center of each top sheet lies on the seam of two bottom sheets.

5. Spoon the almond paste down the length of the filo sheets, along the edge nearest you, about 2 inches from the edge. Sprinkle sugar over the almond paste.

6. Working quickly, roll the filo around the paste, like a cigar – one rotation at only at this point – moving down the length of the filo. With the first roll entirely complete, continue rolling until you’ve created a tube. Starting at one end, begin coiling the tube flat along the work surface, taking care not to crack the filo too badly as you roll. Repair any cracks with the extra filo brushed with melted butter.

7. Transfer to a baking sheet (I always used a rimmed sheet) and bake for 40 minutes. Remove, and allow to cool.

8. Dust with extra confectioners’ sugar and garnish with small rose buds (if using)

*You can grind fresh almonds to make your own almond flour. Use about 2 heaping cups of almonds (as measured before grinding).

I can only dream of making this so well. Saturday, I start my daily cake challenge. These posts are "practice," as I figure out how to set up a blog, insert pictures, and all that happy hoohaa. The first cake I will bake is this one:

We'll see how it goes. I hope you tune in, make comments, try the cake (for that matter ask me to give you the cake if you live in Salalah). 

Love,

Felicia El Aid