Kaber Ellouz (Tunisian Almond Balls)

Kaber Ellouz are almond balls from Tunisia. They are made by braiding together 3 pieces of almond dough- one plain, one dyed red, and one dyed green. I used the beet food coloring I posted yesterday for the red dough. I attempted to make green food coloring, but it did not work out so I used store-bought. The braided almond dough is formed into balls and each is rolled in superfine sugar. These were a very easy, no bake dessert. In Tunisia, they are popular for special occasions.

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You can make vanilla sugar at home and it is also available in many supermarkets. If you are unable to find it, substitute by adding 2 teaspoons superfine sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract when making the syrup.

The original recipe called for ground almonds. I used pre-made almond meal. You can use almonds and grind them yourself, but they need to be fine and not too oily to make a smooth dough.

Kaber Ellouz (Tunisian Almond Balls)

Adapted from Culina Mediterranea

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Kaber Ellouz (Tunisian Almond Balls)

Course Dessert

Cuisine Tunisian

Keyword Africa, African, almond, dessert, Tunisia, Tunisian

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

0 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 12 Almond balls

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup superfine (caster) sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla sugar
• 7 tablespoons water
• 4 teaspoons rosewater
• 2 1/2 cups almond meal
• 1/2 teaspoon red food color
• 1/2 teaspoon green food color

Garnish:

• Superfine sugar
• Pine nuts

Instructions

• In a small saucepan, combine sugar and vanilla sugar. Stir in the water and heat over medium. Cook, whisking occasionally, until all sugar is dissolved, about 10 minutes. Whisk in the rosewater.
• Place almond meal in a medium bowl. Use a wooden spoon to stir in syrup. Once dough has come together, knead on work surface lightly dusted with almond meal until smooth.
• Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces. To one piece, knead in red food coloring. Knead in green to another piece. Leave the third piece plain.
• Roll each piece into a 3/4 inch wide rope. Place the ropes side by side and braid together. Push the braid together to seal and cut into about 1 inch long pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.
• On a plate, sprinkle some superfine sugar. Roll each ball in the sugar and place on serving plate. Sprinkle with pine nuts, if using, and serve.