Cooking with Cinnamon
Recipes with Cinnamon — Morocco's Bridge Between Sweet and Savoury
Cinnamon (qerfa) is the spice that lets Moroccan cooking dance between sweet and savoury like no other cuisine. It dusts the icing-sugar top of a bastilla, deepens the sauce of a lamb-and-prune tagine, crowns an orange salad, and warms the milk of a rice pudding. Used both as bark sticks in slow braises and as ground powder for finishing, cinnamon is one of the true pillars of the Moroccan spice box. This guide covers cinnamon's remarkable range across the Moroccan table, how much to use, and how to buy it for the best flavour.
How Moroccans use cinnamon
Cinnamon works in two forms. Sticks (bark) go into slow-cooked tagines, couscous broths and puddings, infusing gently over long cooking and lifted out before serving. Ground cinnamon is used to season meat mixtures and, above all, as a finishing dust — over bastilla, orange salad, rice pudding and sweet couscous. It is the spice that makes Morocco's celebrated sweet-savoury dishes work, tying caramelised onions, dried fruit and honey to spiced meat. Cinnamon appears in ras el hanout too. Few Moroccan festive dishes reach the table without a cinnamon note somewhere.
The best Moroccan recipes with cinnamon
Bastilla — the sweet-savoury pie finished with icing sugar and cinnamon lattice. Lamb tagine with prunes — cinnamon deepens the dark, sweet sauce. Couscous tfaya — caramelised onions with raisins and cinnamon. Orange and cinnamon salad — the classic light dessert. Rice pudding and muhallabia. Sellou and sweet pastries. Mrouzia. Start with the orange-and-cinnamon salad for its finishing use, then a prune tagine to see how a stick works through a braise.
Stick versus ground, and how much to use
For long-cooked dishes use a stick or two, which release flavour slowly and can be fished out — a single stick suffices for a tagine for four. For seasoning meat or finishing sweets use ground cinnamon, starting with half a teaspoon and building, as too much can turn bitter and dominant. Ground cinnamon loses its punch within months, so grind small amounts from sticks if you can, or buy little and often. Bloom ground cinnamon briefly in the cooking fat for savoury dishes, but add the finishing dust raw so its aroma stays bright on the plate.
Buying and storing cinnamon
Most Moroccan cooking uses cassia-type cinnamon, robust and warm, sold as rolled bark sticks and as powder in every spice souk. Choose sticks that smell strongly sweet and buy ground cinnamon in small quantities from a busy stall, since powder fades fast. Fresh cinnamon is fragrant and slightly hot on the tongue; dusty, faint sticks are old. Store both airtight, away from light and heat. Sticks keep their strength for a year or two, powder for only a few months, so a jar of sticks plus a little fresh powder is the practical way to keep cinnamon at its best.
Cook's tips
- Use sticks for slow braises and puddings; use ground for seasoning meat and finishing sweets.
- One cinnamon stick is enough to flavour a tagine for four.
- Add the finishing dust raw so its aroma stays bright on the plate.
- Buy ground cinnamon in small amounts — powder fades within months.
- Store airtight and away from light; sticks keep far longer than powder.
Questions about cooking with Cinnamon
Why is cinnamon used in savoury Moroccan dishes?
Cinnamon is the key to Morocco's beloved sweet-savoury style. It ties caramelised onions, dried fruit and honey to spiced meat in dishes like bastilla, tfaya and prune tagine, adding warmth and a hint of sweetness without sugar. Far from being only a dessert spice, it is a savoury cornerstone of the cuisine.
Should I use cinnamon sticks or ground cinnamon?
Use sticks for long-cooked tagines, couscous broths and puddings, where they infuse gently and can be lifted out. Use ground cinnamon for seasoning meat mixtures and as a finishing dust over bastilla, salads and puddings. Many Moroccan cooks keep both, reaching for whichever the dish and stage of cooking calls for.
What is the orange and cinnamon salad?
It is a simple, refreshing Moroccan dessert of peeled, sliced oranges arranged on a plate and dusted with cinnamon, often with a splash of orange blossom water and sometimes a scattering of dates or nuts. Served cold after a rich meal, it cleanses the palate and shows cinnamon in its bright, sweet finishing role.
How much cinnamon should I use in a tagine?
For a tagine feeding four, one cinnamon stick added to the braise, or about half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, is a good starting point. Cinnamon can dominate and turn bitter in excess, so build up and taste. In sweet-savoury dishes with prunes or onions, you can be a little more generous.
How long does cinnamon keep its flavour?
Cinnamon sticks hold their strength for a year or two if stored airtight and away from light and heat, while ground cinnamon fades within a few months. For the best flavour, keep a jar of sticks and buy or grind only small amounts of powder at a time, replacing it once it smells dusty rather than warmly sweet.
Cook these dishes with a local in Marrakech
Learn to handle cinnamon the Moroccan way in a hands-on cooking class, or taste it across the medina on a guided food tour.