Briwat Bi Loz
by Claudia Roden
from Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey, and Lebanon
(Knopf, 2006)
Makes about 14 pastries
These exquisite pastries called “the bride’s fingers,” which are featured in medieval Arab manuscripts found in Baghdad, are fried and sprinkled with syrup and chopped pistachios. In Morocco, they are made with the thin pastry called warka or brick and deep-fried. I prefer to make them with phyllo and to bake them. I use a supermarket brand where the sheets are about 12 inches by 7 inches.
I especially recommend you try the dainty little “bride’s fingers” (see Variations). I make them for parties and I keep some in a cookie tin to serve with coffee. They are great favorites in our family; my mother always made them and now my children make them, too.—Claudia Roden
convert Ingredients
1/2 pound clear honey
1/2 cup water
2 cups ground almonds
1/2 to 2/3 cup superfine sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
2 tablespoons orange-blossom water
14 sheets phyllo
5 tablespoons (1/3 cup) unsalted butter, melted
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Directions
1. Make the syrup by bringing the honey and water to the boil in a pan and simmering it for half a minute. Then let it cool.
2. Mix the ground almonds with the sugar, cinnamon, and orange-blossom water.
3. Open the package of phyllo only when you are ready to make the pastries. Keep them in a pile so that they do not dry out. Lightly brush the top one with melted butter.
4. Put a line of 2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons of the almond filling 3/4 inch from one of the short ends of the rectangle. Extend the line of filling to within 3/4 inch of both of the long sides. Roll up loosely into a fat cigar shape. Turn the ends in about one-third of the way along to trap the filling for a turn or two, then continue to roll with the ends opened out. Continue with the remaining sheets of phyllo.
5. Place the pastries on a baking sheet, brush them with melted butter, and bake them in an oven (preheated to 300°F [150°C]) for 30 minutes, or until lightly golden and crisp.
6. Turn each pastry, while still warm, very quickly in the syrup and arrange on a dish. Serve cold with the remaining syrup poured all over.
Variations
Instead of the honey syrup, make a sugar syrup by simmering 1 cup water with 2 cups sugar and 1 tablespoon lemon juice for about 5 to 8 minutes, until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, and adding 1 tablespoon orange-blossom water toward the end.
Instead of rolling the pastries in syrup, sprinkle them with confectioners’ sugar. These keep very well for days in an airtight cookie tin.
For dainty little “bride’s fingers,” cut sheets of phyllo into narrow strips — they can measure from 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 inches wide and be about 12 inches long. You can use larger sheets cut into 3 or 4 strips. Use 1 heaped tablespoon of the filling for each roll. This makes about 28.
Recipe © 2006 by Claudia Roden. All rights reserved.
[Linda Pacchiano] This recipe is definitely a TC! The pastries are so easy to make and the results are as professional as you’d find in an upscale bakery. I made the smaller variation by cutting my supermarket brand of phyllo into 3 long strips and on each I placed a tablespoon of filling. This resulted in nice two-bite pastries that could be eaten as “finger food.” Great for any occasion—but it’ll be hard to eat just one! Of course, the smaller variation took less time in the oven—15 to 20 minutes rather than 30 minutes for the larger version. I tried freezing some of them before baking and then baked them right from the freezer. These turned out just as delicious as those that were baked immediately.
[Adrienne Lee] This is a delicious recipe—both the almond filling and the honey soaking sauce. It isn’t an easy recipe, though. A note: phyllo sheets come in many different sizes now. I’d look for the smaller sizes, because otherwise you’ll have to cut and fill at the same time. It’d be easier to find sheets that are closest to the size specified in the headnote. I think that 7-inch pastries might be too large for most people so I opted for the smaller “bride’s fingers.” If you’re a beginner or just find phyllo difficult to work with, you can double the layers to make the pastry more sturdy before rolling. Brush butter between the layers and they’ll stick together. Then roll as described in the instructions. (I actually found it easier to turn the edges in earlier—I tried it both ways—and brushed butter along the seams. This is similar to making triangles and sealing in the filling right in the beginning.) I think that the pieces could take more filling than the 1 tablespoon, or thin line, specified in the recipe. Freezing these works well. I formed the rolls, wrapped each one individually in plastic wrap, and threw them into a freezer bag. To bake, just preheat the oven, place the rolls directly from the freezer onto a baking sheet, and bake for 30 minutes or until golden.
Can I roll these and freeze them to bake later?
Hi Donna, I spoke with several of our testers and you should be fine to make these ahead and freeze them. Just be sure to cook them from a frozen state and add a few more minutes bake time. Hope this helps!
thank you
My pleasure, Donna.