The oven makrout recipe: much healthier and tastier

Everyone loves makrout. It's one of France's favorite sweets when they visit Oriental tea rooms. An elaborate culinary fantasy, the makrout recipe has been revisited here. For dietary reasons, we prefer to bake this oriental cake in the oven rather than in oil. In essence, Maghrebi pastry is sweet and refined.

Everyone loves makrout. It's one of France's favorite sweets when they visit Oriental tea rooms. An elaborate culinary fantasy, the makrout recipe has been revisited here. For dietary reasons, we prefer to bake this oriental cake in the oven rather than in oil. In essence, Maghrebi pastry is sweet and refined. So why overload it with all kinds of sugar and oil? Don't forget that the makrout recipe calls for butter. So there's no need to add fat twice. Here's how to make this healthy makrout recipe a real success for your guests.

The makrout recipe: where does it come from?

Makrout is a North African recipe. Indeed, but its origins lie in south-east Algeria, in the heart of the desert. Where date production has flourished for over 500 years. Ecosystem oblige! How could the Makrout recipe have been invented without an abundance of raw materials? In this case: dates.

Indeed, the recipe's success stems from the finesse of the semolina and the natural sweetness of the dates. We explain everything in detail.

Ingredients needed to make makrout

The makrout recipe itself is very easy. It's also quite economical. In fact, it's possible to make mountains of cake with just a few ingredients. In fact, our grandmothers used to make them by the hundred. Indeed, between families and neighbors, everyone has to be served. Here's what you'll need to make the recipe:

• 1 kilo of Amor Ben Amor brand medium-wheat semolina for its exceptional quality
• 1 packet high-quality butter (please avoid margarine)
• Salt
• Cinnamon
• Orange blossom
• A tin of date paste
• Honey

Work the semolina the day before and leave to stand for a few minutes

The success of your makrout recipe depends on sound advice. Melt a slab of butter over low heat. After sifting the semolina well:

• Add half a teaspoon of salt and the semolina, then stir
• Pour the melted butter over the semolina
• Grain the semolina with your hands until the butter soaks in
• Finally, cover the container with a kitchen towel and leave to rest for at least ten hours.

How to shape the semolina boudins?

The next day, the semolina is much more malleable. You need to rehydrate it lightly with orange blossom water and a little water, without overdoing it. This will also give the makrouts a subtle fragrance.

Next, shape the sausages lengthwise, then create a slit between the two ends to place the date paste. This can also be lightly moistened with orange blossom. Once the filling has been applied, simply close the semolina boudin.

The stamp to shape our beloved North African pastries

At this stage, the bulk of the makrout recipe has been completed. It's essential to use the special makrout stamp. This is a piece of pastry that can easily be found in oriental bazaars or on the Internet for a few euros.

You apply the stamp directly by pressing it over the sausage. Indeed, one wonders how makrouts can have such a beautiful and perfect shape. In fact, that's the secret of this Oriental pastry stamp. It will draw the diamond shape all by itself, as well as the little decorative lines on the top. Finally, all you have to do is cut out the dividing line between the rhombuses with a knife.

Proceed in the same way for all the puddings you've made.

Why cook in the oven rather than in oil?

Quite simply, for dietary and rendering reasons. Indeed, baking in oil must first be mastered perfectly, otherwise the sweets will harden too much. Nevertheless, the recipe for oven-baked makrout is excellent. With slow baking, the cake becomes more tender once the butter content has been controlled. Admittedly, the color will be a little more yellow than brown. On the other hand, it's the honey glaze that adds the finishing touch to this sweet treat.

Finally, you're already using 80% fat in the butter, so the oil might not be too much. Especially since makrouts may not be the only cake to pass through your teeth. So save yourself the trouble and do the sensible thing by minimizing fat and refined sugar.

Honey is essential in makrout recipes

Please honor the recipe by putting the small plates in the big ones. Glucose sugar syrup, so commonly used to save money, is poison. For guests and children alike. Fill that time bomb with good honey.

And it's just the thing! You're spoilt for choice in this list.

Instead of popularizing the makrout recipe, stick to tradition. Honey will subtly add its natural sweetness. Glucose syrup, which tends to disgust and raise blood sugar levels, does not. You can therefore apply it subtly with a brush from a dish. After all, you can't soak an expensive, noble raw material in one go. The most important thing is that you enjoy a melting, richly flavored makrout.

Where to store your generous Oriental pastries?

By custom, our elders often tend to store makrouts in iron cake tins. In particular, this sweet tends to age well even if it contains butter. In our opinion, we recommend storing them on a cookie cutter or a cake bell. Thus visible, you'll always be tempted at least once a week to complement a cup of coffee or a glass of tea.