Moroccan Almond Snake Pastry with Orange Flower Water

What you need

• 450 g (1 lb) blanched almonds, skins removed
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 120 g (1 cup) icing sugar, 105 g for the paste, the rest for dusting
• 85 g (6 tbsp) butter, 30 g softened for the paste, 55 g melted for brushing
• 2 tbsp orange flower water, or rosewater, to taste
• 8 sheets phyllo pastry, thawed, covered with a damp cloth
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp for the glaze, the rest for dusting
• 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Grind the almonds with the caster sugar in a food processor, in batches, until they form a fine meal with no coarse bits.

2. 2

   Tip the almond meal into a bowl. Add 105 g (3/4 cup) of the icing sugar, the softened butter and the orange flower water. Mix into a smooth, pliable paste.

3. 3

   Cover the paste and chill for 30 min.

4. 4

   Divide the paste into 16 equal pieces. Roll each into a pencil-thin cylinder about 15 cm (6 in) long.

5. 5

   Preheat the oven to 190 °C (375 °F). Butter a 25 cm (10 in) round cake tin.

6. 6

   Lay one sheet of phyllo on the work surface and brush it lightly with melted butter. Place two almond cylinders end to end along the short edge, 3 cm (1 in) in from the edge.

7. 7

   Roll the phyllo around the cylinders into a tight, thin tube, tucking in the ends.

8. 8

   Coil the first tube in the centre of the tin. Repeat with the remaining sheets and cylinders, joining each new tube to the end of the last, until the coil fills the tin.

9. 9

   Press the coil gently flat with your palm.

10. 10

    Stir 1/2 tsp of the cinnamon into the yolk. Brush the glaze over the top and between the coils.

11. 11

    Bake for 15 min, until the top is golden brown.

12. 12

    Place a baking sheet over the tin and flip both together. Lift off the tin and return the pastry to the oven, now upside down, for 20-25 min, until the other side is golden too.

13. 13

    Slide the pastry onto a wire rack and cool until just warm.

14. 14

    Dust with icing sugar. Sift lines of the remaining cinnamon across it, then lines in the other direction to make a lattice. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Imported from gourmettraveller.com.au. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.