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Mbourake (peanut and date bread crumble)
Mburaax: the Ramadan sweet of toasted bread pounded with peanut, sugar and dates
Yesterday's baguette never goes to waste in a Senegalese kitchen during Ramadan. Mbourake turns it into a rich, crumbly sweet: the bread is dried, rubbed to crumbs and pounded with roasted peanut paste and sugar until it clumps, then mixed with chopped dates and pressed into balls or served loose in a bowl at the ndogu, the evening meal that breaks the fast. Some families use steamed millet instead of bread. It tastes like a cross between peanut cookie dough and a date bar, sweet, nutty and filling, and it is good with a glass of café Touba or milk. Chef's tip: dry the bread fully until it snaps; soft bread gives a gummy paste instead of a light crumble.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 9 oz day-old baguettetorn into pieces
- 2 ½ oz sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 3 ½ oz soft datespitted and chopped
- 1 oz roasted peanuts (optional)roughly chopped
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan). Spread 9 oz day-old baguette on a tray and bake until completely dry and pale golden, turning once.
10 minStep 2: Cool, then blitz in a food processor, or rub between your hands, to fine crumbs.
Step 3: Add 5 ½ oz smooth unsweetened peanut butter, 2 ½ oz sugar, 1 tsp vanilla sugar or vanilla extract and 1 pinch salt and pulse, or pound in a mortar, until the mixture holds together when squeezed in your fist. Add a spoonful of water if it is too dry.
Step 4: Stir in 3 ½ oz soft dates by hand.
Step 5: Press into walnut-sized balls or serve loose in a bowl, scattered with 1 oz roasted peanuts. Keeps 3 days in an airtight tin.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 360 kcal
- Protein
- 11 g
- Carbs
- 46 g
- Fat
- 16 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does mbourake (peanut and date bread crumble) take?
- About 25 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- What can I use instead of smooth unsweetened peanut butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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