M’hencha

Name: M’hencha
Yield: serves 30-40
Ingredients: 7 1/2 cups (3 pounds) ground almonds; 5 cups (2 pounds) superfine sugar; 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon; Just under 1 cup orange-blossom water; A few drops of almond extract (optional); 1 pound fillo pastry; 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted; 2 egg yolks for glazing; Confectioners’ sugar; 1 tablespoon cinnamon

December 9, 2011

This Moroccan pastry is a very long coil (hence the name m’hencha, meaning “snake”) of fillo pastry filled with a ground-almond paste. It is stunning to look at and exquisite. I give very large quantities, because it is the thing to make for a grand occasion, but of course you can make it smaller and reduce the quantities. The flavor is better if you grind the blanched almonds yourself rather than use commercially ground ones.

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