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Moroccan sellou shaped into a round cake and decorated with a star of blanched almonds
Meryem (@meryem.cakes)

Moroccan Sellou (Sfouf) Without Butter or Oil

A Moroccan Ramadan sweet of toasted flour, roasted almonds, sesame seeds and peanuts, flavored with anise, fennel, cinnamon and gum arabic. No butter or oil: long grinding of the nuts gives it a soft, rich texture. Recipe by Meryem (Les recettes &Co de Meryem).
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Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours
Servings: 3.5 kg (about 7.5 lb)
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Moroccan
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Base
  • 1 kg all-purpose flour about 8 cups, toasted (see step 1)
  • 1 kg almonds with skin to grind
  • 200 g whole almonds blanched and toasted, for inside and decoration
  • 1 kg sesame seeds toasted, to grind
  • 200 g sesame seeds toasted, left whole
  • 300 g peanuts blanched (skinless), unsalted
Spices and sweetener
  • 3 tbsp ground anise
  • 3 tbsp fennel seeds or ground fennel
  • 3 to 4 pearls of gum arabic meska horra
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 pinch salt
  • powdered sugar to taste, about 5 tbsp (or honey)

Method
 

  1. Toast the flour: put it in a heavy-bottomed pot over very low heat and whisk it every few minutes until it turns an even golden brown, about 30 minutes per kilo. Don't leave it unattended. Sift it, crush any lumps by hand and sift again.
  2. Spread the almonds (with their skin) on a baking tray and roast them under the oven grill, stirring now and then, until they are deeply golden. No oil is needed.
  3. Roast the peanuts the same way in the oven, stirring often for an even color.
  4. If your sesame seeds are raw, toast them in the oven or a dry pan until golden. If you bought them already toasted, just warm them for a few minutes.
  5. Pick over the fennel seeds to remove any small stones or stems, then warm them in a dry pan for 2 to 3 minutes to release their aroma.
  6. Let everything cool completely (you can stop here and finish the next day).
  7. Grind the 1 kg of almonds in a powerful food processor for a long time, until they turn into a runny paste. Put the toasted flour in a very large dish and pour the almond paste over it.
  8. Grind the peanuts into a semi-liquid paste and add it to the dish. Grind the 1 kg of sesame seeds the same way, add it, then add the 200 g of whole sesame seeds.
  9. Grind the fennel seeds with the gum arabic pearls into a fine powder and add them, along with the ground anise, the salt and the cinnamon.
  10. Mix everything by hand until well combined. Then knead it in small batches in a stand mixer with the flat beater: the more you work it, the more the nuts release their natural oils and the softer and moister the sellou becomes.
  11. Add powdered sugar to taste (or honey) and knead again until the sellou holds together when pressed into a ball.
  12. Blanch the 200 g of whole almonds in boiling water, peel them and toast them. Mix most of them into the sellou and keep a few to decorate.
  13. Shape the sellou in a serving dish, decorate it with the almonds and store the rest in an airtight container.

Notes

The secret of a fat-free sellou: grind the almonds, peanuts and sesame for a long time, until they become runny pastes. Their natural oils replace the butter or oil, so you need a powerful food processor. Process in small batches so you don't overheat it.
Sweetness: this sellou is lightly sweet so you taste the almonds and sesame. Add more powdered sugar or some honey if you like it sweeter.
Bigger batch: in the video Meryem doubles everything (2 kg of flour). The quantities above are her version for 1 kg of flour.
Times are approximate and depend on your pot, oven and food processor.