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4.0 from 6 votes

Harissa Hloua

Harissa hloua (or aricha) is a cake prepared with semolina and almond meal that is popular in Tunisia, and that is known in the region under different names.

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
1 hr 10 mins
Servings: 8 people
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Greek , Middle Eastern , Israeli , Turkish , Algerian , Tunisian , North African

Ingredients

For the dough
  • 2½ cups almond powder
  • 1¼ cup extra fine semolina
  • 1 cup caster sugar
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 4 eggs
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 teaspoons orange blossom water
  • Peel of ½ organic orange
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 pinch salt
  • oil for the pan
For the syrup
  • 3 cups water
  • 1½ cup caster sugar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 5 tablespoons fresh orange juice
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
For the decor
  • 2 tablespoons crushed roasted almonds
  • 4 tablespoons crushed roasted pistachios
Equipment
  • Stand mixer
  • Cake pan (11x8 inches)

Instructions

Dough
    Cup of Yum
  1. Preheat the oven to 375 F (190˚C).
  2. In a bowl, mix the semolina and baking powder.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the eggs, oil, almond extract, orange zest, caster sugar, orange blossom water, vanilla extract, and salt.
  4. Add the mixture of baking powder and semolina, and finally the almond powder.
  5. Mix everything using the flat beater (K beater).
  6. Grease a 11x8 inch (28 x 20 cm) cake pan. Pour the mixture and bake for about 35 minutes.
  7. The cake should be slightly golden but firm.
Syrup
  1. Prepare the syrup while baking the cake.
  2. Add all the syrup ingredients in a non-stick pan.
  3. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook on low heat for 15 minutes.
To serve
  1. When the cake is out of the oven, let cool for 10 minutes then pre cut square or diamond-shaped slices by leaving the biscuit inside the mold.
  2. Gently pour the syrup over the entire surface of the cake so that it is absorbed inside the cut slices.
  3. Let stand at least 1 hour or more before placing each diamond or square-shape slice in individual paper liners.
  4. Mix the crushed almonds and pistachios and sprinkle each cake slice with the mixture.