Category: Global Dishes

A traditional Moroccan cake is referred to as Meskouta in Arabic. Most often made with either orange juice or yogurt as the main ingredient, you’ll typically find them served plain with no frosting. The recipe will vary depending on which family you ask and while it’s most commonly baked in a bundt pan, this cake is much lighter than any other cake you’re used to seeing in this shape. We think this is the perfect dessert to make with your little ones – only 10 minutes to prep and out of the oven 40 minutes later!

What You’ll Need:

4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
zest from 2 oranges
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Or, you can go by these “Traditional Moroccan Measures” we came across when making this recipe…

4 eggs
1 level soup bowl of sugar
1 tea glass full of vegetable oil
1 heaping soup bowl of flour
2 sachets of baking powder
pinch of salt
1 tea glass of fresh orange juice
zest from 1 or 2 oranges
1 sachet of vanilla sugar

Prep:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 C). Grease and flour a bundt pan and set aside. Juice and zest fresh oranges. Beat together eggs and sugar. Gradually beat in oil. Stir in flour, baking powder, salt, and orange juice. Mix until smooth, adding the orange zest and vanilla.

Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 40 minutes or until top is brown and cake tests done (toothpick should come out clean). Allow cake to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turn onto a rack to continue cooling.

We’ve heard that three of the best Moroccan cities for street food are Fes, Marrakech and Essaouria (pronounced es-uh-weer-uh); coincidentally, we visited all three during our stay in Morocco. The best time to visit the food souks? Between 6 and 8 PM – this is the time Moroccans stroll and snack, before heading home for dinner around 10.

Rghaif is a flaky, layered flat bread that’s common throughout these souks. Although the dough may be stuffed with a variety of fillings before it’s folded and fried, plain rghaif are most popular served simply with honey or syrup made from butter. With only 4 ingredients, you can easily make this Moroccan flat bread at home!

What you’ll need:

1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup warm water
olive oil
white cheese (preferably a bit salty) – optional for filling

How to make:

Combine flour, yeast and salt into a large bowl. Add water slowly and knead mixture for 5-10 minutes until the dough is smooth.

Divide the dough into 5 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and lightly coat with olive oil, set aside for 10 minutes.

While your dough balls are resting, warm a cast iron skillet (or similarly heavy pan) to medium heat.

On a clean surface, roll each dough ball out as thin as you possibly can. Get started with a rolling pin and then carefully lift and stretch the dough by hand. The thinner, the better.

If you’d like to fill your flat bread, now is the time to do so! Once you’ve placed your filling in the center of the dough, fold the dough into a rectangle or square and place in the heated pan that’s been lightly coated with olive oil.

Cook for a total of 6 minutes, flipping the bread every minute or so – making sure each one is cooked evenly.

Best served warm with your favorite jelly or honey. Add a side of sliced meats and enjoy!