Alkatayef (Arabic Stuffed Pancakes)

Ingredients

Pancake

¾ cup of sugar
½ cup warm milk
1 teaspoon of yeast
2 teaspoon of baking powder
1¼ cup flour
1 cup water

The nut stuffing

24 pieces of the pancakes
1 cup ground hazelnuts
1 cup ground almonds
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon rose water and or orange blossom water
1½ cup sugar syrup
oil for frying

The cream filling

24 pieces of pancakes
1½ cup fresh cream
½ cup peeled and ground pistachios

Method

Pancake 
Mix the sugar and the milk together. Then add the yeast to the mixture. Let stand for 5 minutes, until the yeast rises.

Mix the baking powder with the flour then add to the yeast mixture.
 
Add the water to the mixture then mix very well. Let rise for a while.
 
Heat a pan, preferably a thick bottom pan. Then add one large tablespoon of the dough in the hot pan. 

Leave it until the bottom of the pancake gets brown.
 
When the pancake begins to have little air pockets on the top this means that it is done.
 
If you find that it is burnt on the bottom half, you may reduce the heat and let it cook at a lower rate.

The nut stuffing
Mix the hazelnuts, almonds, sugar together, and then add the rose or orange blossom water with one tbsp of the syrup.
 
Place one tbsp inside the pancake leaving the dark piece on the outside. Place the mixture in the centre and then fold the pancake making a semi-circle. Close the edges tightly with your fingers. Heat up the frying oil, when hot, place your stuffed pancake into the oil and fry until golden brown.
 
Take them out of the oil and dip the directly into the cool syrup.
 
Take them out of the syrup and place them onto a serving tray.

The cream filling
Fill the centre of the pancake with the cream filling.
 
Close it only half way, leaving an opening in the at one end.
 
Then dip the pancake that has been filled with the cream into the pistachio nuts.
 
The opening of the pancake should now be covered with the ground pistachio nuts.
 
Serve these on a platter with the syrup drizzled on top or on the side.

Umm Ali. 

Preparation time :     15 minutes
Cooking time :     20 minutes
Serves: 10 persons 

Ingredients

8 pieces croissant or 600 g, medium size, cut into small pieces
3 tablespoons raisins
3 tablespoons desiccated coconut
3 tablespoons flaked almonds, toasted
3 tablespoons pistachio nuts, cracked
1 tin NESTLÉ® Sweetened Condensed Milk or 397 g
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
4 cups water or 1 liter
1 cup liquid cream or 250 ml, whipped

Preparation

Combine croissant pieces, raisins, coconut, almonds and pistachio in a baking dish.

Place Nestle Sweetened Condensed Milk , vanilla and water in a large saucepan and bring to boil then remove from heat and pour immediately over the croissant mixture in the baking dish and set them aside for 5 minutes or until croissants absorb the maximum of the liquid.

Place whipped cream in a piping bag and pipe the cream over the prepared mixture in the baking dish.

Place the baking dish in a preheated oven at 200°C using the grill part of the oven and grill for 5 minutes or until the cream topping is golden color. Serve it immediately.

UMM ALI : Traditional Egyption dessert

Ingredients

1 (17.5 ounce) package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed 
1/2 cup chopped walnuts 
1 cup chopped pecans 
1 cup chopped hazelnuts 
1 cup raisins 
1 cup flaked coconut 
1 1/4 cups white sugar, divided 
4 cups milk 
1/2 cup heavy cream 

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. 

Place the pastry sheets in the baking dish and place the dish in the oven. Watch it closely. When the top layer turns crunchy and golden, remove it from the oven. Continue until all the sheets are cooked. 

Preheat the oven broiler. 

In a bowl, combine walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, raisins, coconut and 1/4 cup sugar. Break cooked pastry into pieces and stir into nut mixture. Spread mixture evenly in 9x13 inch dish. 

Bring milk and 1/2 cup sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Pour over nut mixture. 

Beat the heavy cream with the remaining 1/2 cup sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread evenly over nut mixture in dish. 

Place dessert under oven broiler until top is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Serve hot.