Cream or Walnut Sweet “Hand Pies”

QATAYEF

LEBANON | SYRIA

Qatayef are like English crumpets, but made thinner so that they can be filled with qashtah (Arabic clotted cream) or walnuts and fried until crisp and golden before being dipped in syrup. They are also served unfried, half filled with qashtah, drizzled with sugar syrup, and finished with a pretty garnish of Orange Blossom Jam. Like many other sweets, they are a must for Ramadan. During that month, many sweets makers set up colorful tents outside their stores to make industrial quantities of qatayef right on the street, both for show and to meet the increased demand. Most home cooks in the Middle East buy the pancakes ready-made to fill and fry at home, but I also give you the recipe for how to make them—it is not so easy to find them in the West, except at Syrian or Lebanese sweets makers, and often only during Ramadan.

MAKES 12 SMALL PANCAKES

Sugar syrup from Semolina Cake

FOR THE BATTER

1 cup (120 g) unbleached all-purpose flour

Heaping ½ teaspoon instant (fast-acting) yeast

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

FOR THE FILLING (CHOOSE ONE)

1½ cups (375 g) Arabic clotted cream (see Glossary)

7 ounces (200 g) coarsely ground walnuts, 1 tablespoon raw cane sugar, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1 tablespoon orange blossom water (stirred together)

Vegetable oil, for frying

1. Make the sugar syrup following the instructions.

2. To make the batter: Put the flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl and mix well. Add ⅔ cup (160 ml) water and mix until you have a smooth batter. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 1 hour, or until the batter has doubled in size and its surface has become quite bubbly.

3. Make your filling of choice.

4. To cook the pancakes: Brush a large nonstick skillet with a little oil and heat over medium heat. Scoop out a heaping tablespoon of batter and drop into the skillet, spreading it, either with the back of the ladle or by shaking the pan from side to side, to have a round about 3 inches (7.5 cm) in diameter and ¼ inch (6 mm) thick. Drop as many pancakes as will fit comfortably in the pan without letting them touch. Cook on one side only until the top is completely pockmarked with holes, and the bottom is lightly golden. Remove to a clean kitchen towel and finish making the remaining pancakes in the same way. Let cool.

5. To assemble, lay a pancake on one hand. Arrange 1 tablespoon filling in a line down the middle, staying clear of the edges, and fold the pancake up into a half-moon enclosing the filling. Pinch the edges firmly together so that they don’t open during frying and lay on a platter. Finish filling the pancakes.

6. Set a fine-mesh wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet. Have the sugar syrup near the stove. Pour 2 inches (5 cm) vegetable oil into a large skillet and heat over medium heat until hot (if you drop a piece of bread in the oil, the oil should immediately bubble around it). Slide in as many filled pancakes as can fit comfortably in the pan and fry for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown all over. Remove with a slotted spoon and drop into the sugar syrup. Turn in the syrup until well coated, then transfer to the wire rack to let the excess syrup drain off. Repeat with the remaining pancakes and serve within the hour. They are at their crunchiest and most delicious served immediately after frying.