Khobz Tunis - Algerian Helouwa - My Family Recipe

Have you got any day old bread (stale) to use up? Yes? Well this could be the recipe for you! These helouwa/cakes are so simple to make and like most Algerian helouwa recipes, you end up with a lot for your efforts! This is my own family recipe...

• Ready In: 1 hr 15 mins
• Serves: 15
• Yields: 30 approx. of diamond cakes

Ingredients

• For the Khobz

• 1  cup egg
• 1  cup sugar
• 1  cup butter or 1  cup margarine
• 1  cup  of freshly ground  almonds (see directions)
• 1  cup  stale bread
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1  lemon, zest of, large
• 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla essence

• For the Syrup

• 2  cups granulated sugar
• 4  cups water
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons  orange blossom water (mazhar)

Directions

1. For the syrup:
2. Put the sugar and the water into a large pan and boil for approx 10-15 minutes. Add the mazhar during the last couple of minutes. Allow to cool of slightly before pouring onto the khobz.
3. For the Khobz:
4. If making ground almonds at home - preferable - please coarsely chop them in a food processor until you have pieces the size of sago or large cous cous for example (ie not too fine).
5. With an electric whisk, beat the eggs until fluffy. Incorporate the sugar and butter into the eggs, whisking for at least 5 minutes.
6. Fold in the ground almonds, bread/toast, baking powder, lemon zest and vanilla essence. Take care not to knock the air out of the mixture.
7. Pour into a round metal tin approximately 50cm across and 35cm high. and level off. Cook in preheated oven at gas mark 5-6 for 40 minutes or until brown & a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle.
8. Once cooked, turn off oven. Remove the Khobz and pour the syrup over the top. Return the khobz to the oven for 5 mins - not to cook further only to aid absorbtion of the syrup.
9. Remove from oven and using diagonal cuts, cut the khobz tunis to make diamond shapes approximately 1.5'' in diameter. Put into metallic paper cases (so syrup doesn't soak through) or serve without cases.