Halawet Al Jibn /Sweet Cheese and Semolina Rolls

A dense stretchy cheese-semolina dough that envelopes a milky clotted cream like filling —that we call in Arabic ashta —and drizzled with sugar syrup flavored with orange blossom water. A unique Lebanese and Syrian dessert that reflects the pure refined art of our cuisine in terms of presentation and taste. Yes, a genius culinary technique that Lebanese and Syrian chefs perfected with precision over years —”Halawet El Jibn” is elegant, sophisticated, and an utterly gourmet dessert.

Link to the recipe on the blog: https://hadiaslebanesecuisine.com/new...


To make the Lebanese clotted Cream (Ashta):
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 heaped tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon mastic gum, crushed with a pinch of sugar using a mortar and pestle

To make the sugar syrup, (atter):
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon orange blossom water

The semolina-cheese dough:
350 grams /12 oz mozzarella cheese
1 cup fine semolina/ farina called in Arabic theen farkha
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups water
1/4 teaspoon mastic gum, crushed with a pinch of sugar
2 tablespoons of shelled pistachios, for garnish