Ingredients
Almond filling
- 500 gblanched almonds
- 250 gcaster sugar
- 3 tablespoonsrose water
- or 3 tablespoons geranium water
- 50 gbutter, softened
- 1egg white, if needed
- a pinch of ground mastic, optional
Pastry
- 400 gplain flour
- 60 gbutter, melted
- 1egg
- 3 tablespoonsrose water
- about 100 ml warm water
- a pinch of salt
To finish
- icing sugar, to dust
- rose water, to brush
Directions
- Pour boiling water over all of them. Leave them two minutes and drain them. Dry them thoroughly before grinding. Grind the almonds finely in a processor. They should be fine and slightly damp looking. Mix the ground almonds with the sugar. Add the softened butter to them. Add the rose or geranium water. Add the ground mastic if using it.
- Work it together with your hands. It should hold together when squeezed. Add an egg white if it will not hold. Add more sugar if it is sticky.
- Roll the paste into thin ropes. Aim for about a centimetre thick. Cut them into lengths of twelve centimetres. Set them all aside on a clean tray. Put the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the melted butter and the egg. Add the rose water to the bowl. Add warm water gradually until it comes together.
- Knead it for a good fifteen minutes. That is longer than most pastries need. Wrap the dough and let it rest. Give it at least one full hour. Divide the dough into small pieces. Keep the rest covered as you work. Roll one piece out very thin indeed.
- Take it down to under a millimetre. You should see your hand through it. Cut it into strips about six centimetres wide. Lay a rope of almond paste along a strip.
- Set it slightly off the centre. Fold the pastry over the filling. Press it down around the paste. Press out all the trapped air. Trim the edge with a pastry wheel. Bring the two ends of the filled rope together. Press the join firmly to seal it. Smooth the join with a wet finger. Press it firmly and check every ring. Prick the top two or three times.
- Use a needle or else a clean pin. Baking them takes very little time. Heat the oven to 160C before baking. Set them out on lined baking trays. Bake them for about twelve minutes. A hot oven colours them immediately. Take them out before they take any colour.
- Brush them with rose water while warm. Dust them generously with icing sugar. Stack them carefully on a tray. They keep two weeks in a sealed tin. Layer them with paper between.
Technique
- Kaak means ring and warka means leaf or sheet, the same word used for the paper-thin Moroccan pastry, so the name is a standard rather than a description: the pastry must be nearly transparent and must stay entirely pale, and any colour at all is a failure.
- Moroccan kaab el ghazal is the close relative with the same almond filling and pale standard but shaped as a crescent and scented with orange blossom water, while Tunisian versions lean on rose or geranium water.
- The oven is deliberately kept low, since a hot oven colours them immediately and the point is to set them without browning; some bakers go lower still and bake longer.
Substitutions
- Rose water and geranium water are both used, with geranium distinctive to Tunisia.
- Orange blossom water can be used, though it gives the Moroccan character instead.
Variations
- Kaab el ghazal in Morocco is the crescent-shaped relative.
- Ground mastic is added by some bakers for a pine and cedar note.
- Some are left plain and others dusted heavily with icing sugar.
History
The name means leaf-thin ring; the pale dough is stretched around almond paste and baked without colouring, and it is served at Tunis weddings and engagements.
Frequently asked questions
What is Kaak Warka?
Kaak Warka is a dessert from Tunisia: delicate almond-paste rings scented with rosewater, the Tunis wedding pastry. The name means leaf-thin ring; the pale dough is stretched around almond paste and baked without colouring, and it is served at Tunis weddings and engagements.
How long does Kaak Warka take to make?
Kaak Warka takes 1 hour 30 minutes plus resting of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 24 rings. It is rated hard to make.
What can I substitute in Kaak Warka?
Yes, within limits. Rose water and geranium water are both used, with geranium distinctive to Tunisia. Orange blossom water can be used, though it gives the Moroccan character instead.
What is the most important thing to get right in Kaak Warka?
Kaak means ring and warka means leaf or sheet, the same word used for the paper-thin Moroccan pastry, so the name is a standard rather than a description: the pastry must be nearly transparent and must stay entirely pale, and any colour at all is a failure.
