Recipe | Sweet
Ma'amoul - Date Cake (Ruth Conroy)

Traditionally Ma'amoul comes as little balls of short pastry containing a Date and/or Nut filling. Ruth has a nice variation on this where each piece is formed like a Pin Wheel scone (or cinnamon whirl). This recipe makes about 12 pieces.

Pastry

Ruth's recipe is pretty simple, but Steven and Galit found another variation on this recipe where the optional items below come from.

1 1/2 Cups flour
120 grams unsalted butter or margarine
Optional: Salt or use salted butter
Optional: 1 teaspoon of sugar

  • Cut the butter into the flour until is resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

Drop of cold water
Optional: a squeeze of lemon juice
Optional: a drop of brandy

  • Add to flour
  • Mix until forms a ball
  • If sticky, then add more flour.

Filling

Steven and Galit replaced Ruth's filling with a Date pulp that we got from an Israeli shop, and with Walnuts added. You can also just use a Nut and Cinnamon mixture, i.e. leave out the fruit, although that probably works better in the form of traditional balls rather than Ruth's whirls.

120 grams Dates (with no stones)
A little water
A little butter

  • Cook dates in water and butter.

Sultanas
Apple (peeled and grated)
Cinnamon
Walnuts (or Pecans or Pinenuts)

  • Add other ingredients and mix.

Assembling cakes

Recipe makes about 12 pieces:

  • For Ruth's whirls:
    • Roll pastry into a long oblong
    • Spread filling on pastry.
    • Roll up from short side of pastry oblong.
    • Cut into rounds
  • Alternative for more traditional balls:
    • Form the pastry into large walnut sized balls.
    • Press a hole into each ball.
    • Fill each ball with some filling
    • Close the pastry over the filling.
  • Prick pastry with a fork
  • Bake at 180º C for 15 minutes (Ruth said 160º but we found 180º C better) - the pastry should not brown.
  • Cool

Icing sugar

  • Sprinkle fairly heavily over the cakes