Honey Msemen

This is one of the few dessert recipes you'll find on my website, because it is special to me.

If you’re American, pancakes must have been a cherished item of your childhood. If you’re French, it’s the same with crêpes.

Msemen are your Arabic equivalent for crêpes. I remember having them at least once a year during the Ramadan period. You can eat the savoury version, but my family favoured the sweet version, served around one hour after dinner, with a generous pouring of mixed honey and butter.

Traditional mint tea is a mandatory accompaniement for this one. It all makes for an oriental medley of sensations : the crispy yet soft msmen, with all its layers of dough, all moist with the honey mixture ; the sugary tea with a slight bitterness from the mint : those are definite Madeleines de Proust for me.

Even if they were less frequently found at my childhood household, I also absolutely adore the salty versions of these Msemens -also called Mhajebs. Two fillings are traditional : the tomato-onion one, and the kefta one. Don’t underestimate the veggie version ! It’s probably one of the most widely found, and for good reason. I’ll soon post recipes for the both of them.

Honey Msemen - Recipe

Ingredients - Advice & key points

• What makes or break your msmen if how long you knead it. It needs to go from a quite sticky dough to an elastic, supple and not sticky one.
  • Try to spend a good 15/20 minutes on this step !
  • If using a food processor in kneading mode, let it knead 10 minutes.
• The other main requirement for a nice msmen is to let it rest at least 1 hour. The longer, the better ! Yes, this is not your typical weeknight recipe ; I recommend making them over the weekend.
• Simple mistakes to avoid regarding your dough's chemistry :
  • Don't skip the sugar, as it helps in the baking powders' raising process.
  • Also, remember to add lukewarm water to your dough (not warm, nor cold).

Cooking & Serving your Honey Msemen

• Msemen are quite quick to cook ; use a hot pan -ideally heavy, but a nonstick one works great, too- and pan-fry ~2 minutes per side !
• My mom always served those Msemen with a mix of honey and butter, quickly heated up in a small pot ; use the microwave oven if you prefer.
• As for the leftovers policy :
  • If you made too much with honey already poured on top, it's fine ! Simply reheat them in the microwave the next day, 30 seconds per msemen. It will be slightly less moist and less crunchy (the dough absorbs the honey mixture overnight), but still very nice.
  • For your plain msemens, the best policy is to put any leftover into your freezer. To reheat it, simply let it thaw or reheat straight into your skillet.