Qagħaq tal-għasel

Ingredients

The pastry

• 500 gplain flour
• 150 gbutter or margarine
• cold and cubed
• about 120 ml cold water
• 1 teaspoonsalt

The filling

• 500 gblack treacle
• or dark molasses
• 150 gsemolina
• grated zest of 1 orange
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoonground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoonground cloves
• 1 teaspoonaniseed, ground
• 100 gmixed peel, chopped
• 3 tablespoonswater

Sometimes added

• 2 tablespoonscocoa
• a splash of anisette
• or whisky

To bake

• a moderate oven
• lined trays

Directions

1. Warm the treacle gently in a pan. Cold treacle is very stiff indeed. Warm it gently rather than boiling it. Stir the semolina into the warm treacle.
2. Add it gradually while stirring. Stir it constantly to avoid lumps. Cook it for about five full minutes. Five minutes cooks it through. Stir in the citrus zests and spices. Add all of the chopped mixed peel. Add the water if it is too stiff. It should be a thick spreadable paste. Let the filling cool completely. Hot filling melts the pastry butter.
3. Cool it right down completely first. Hot treacle is extremely hot indeed. Put the flour and salt in a bowl. Add all the cold cubed butter. Rub it in to a coarse crumb texture. Rub it with your fingertips only.
4. Lift the mixture up as you rub it. That keeps it cool and aerated. Add the cold water in gradually. Bring it together into a dough. Add only enough to bring it together. Too much water makes it tough. Add it in just a splash at a time. Wrap it up and then refrigerate it. Give it at least thirty full minutes.
5. Roll the pastry out on a floured surface. Roll it into a long rectangle. It should be about ten centimetres wide. Roll it about three millimetres thick. Roll the filling into a long sausage. Roll it between floured hands. Make it about two centimetres thick.
6. Lay it along the pastry strip. Lay it slightly off the centre. It also helps the seam to seal. Keep it well away from the edges. Fold the pastry over the filling. Press the edge down to seal it. Wet the edge with water if needed. Press it firmly all the way along.
7. Turn the roll seam side downward. That keeps it closed as it bakes. Cut the long roll into lengths. Bring the ends of each together. Press the ends firmly to join them. Overlap them slightly if you can.
8. Press each join properly closed. Cut diagonal slashes round the ring. Cut through the pastry layer only. Do not cut down into the filling. Cut just through the pastry layer. That judgement takes some practice. Heat the oven to one hundred and eighty degrees.
9. Bake them for about thirty-five minutes. A hot oven scorches it quickly. Lift all of them onto a wire rack. Let all of them cool completely. The treacle filling is extremely hot. Set all of them out on a plate. Serve tea or coffee alongside. They keep a week in a sealed tin.

Technique

• The name means honey rings but they contain no honey at all — they are filled with treacle, and the atlas states that plainly. The Maltese għasel means honey and is also used loosely for treacle, which explains it; several other explanations circulate, none well documented, so the atlas records the name and the filling without inventing a story.
• Score diagonal slashes round the ring cutting through the pastry only and not into the filling: the filling expands as it heats and pushes through those cuts so the pastry splits open, which is the whole look. Deep cuts let the filling run out and shallow ones will not split, and that judgement takes practice.
• Bake at a moderate one hundred and eighty degrees, since the treacle filling burns readily and a hot oven scorches it. The pastry stays quite pale and the dark filling gives the contrast, so do not overbake looking for colour.

Substitutions

• Semolina thickens the treacle into a paste as it cooks and is essential — without it the filling is far too runny. Cook it five minutes, since raw semolina tastes gritty.
• Cocoa, a splash of anisette or whisky are all used in versions of the filling.

Variations

• Hot treacle is extremely hot, thick and clings to skin, burning far worse than hot water — never touch or taste it hot, and cool the filling completely before it meets the pastry, which it would otherwise melt.
• Turn the filled roll seam side down so it stays closed as it bakes and the scoring goes on the smooth side.
• Let them cool at least half an hour: the filling holds heat badly and can badly burn the mouth, and it firms from soft to chewy as it cools, which is characteristic.

History

Honey rings, actually filled with treacle and citrus peel; a Christmas sweet whose spiral pattern splits open as it bakes.

Frequently asked questions

What is Qagħaq tal-għasel?

Qagħaq tal-għasel is a dessert from Malta: honey rings filled with dark treacle, spices. Honey rings, actually filled with treacle and citrus peel; a Christmas sweet whose spiral pattern splits open as it bakes.

How long does Qagħaq tal-għasel take to make?

Qagħaq tal-għasel takes 1 hour plus resting of preparation and 35 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 10 rings. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Qagħaq tal-għasel?

Yes, within limits. Semolina thickens the treacle into a paste as it cooks and is essential — without it the filling is far too runny. Cook it five minutes, since raw semolina tastes gritty. Cocoa, a splash of anisette or whisky are all used in versions of the filling.

What is the most important thing to get right in Qagħaq tal-għasel?

Warm the treacle gently in a pan. Cold treacle is very stiff indeed. Warm it gently rather than boiling it. Stir the semolina into the warm treacle.