This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my privacy policy for more details.
Enjoy preparing at home this quick easy recipe of Lebanese ashta cream, the staple ingredient in almost every Middle Eastern dessert.
When you say Arabic sweets or Middle Eastern desserts, you definitely understand that they come in their majority with an added value: ashta cream, the staple ingredient. From Kunafa to atayef, maamoul madd, mafroukeh, or any other dessert from the Levant area.
Even if you decide to prepare these Arabic sweets at home, you can always buy ashta separately from pastry and sweets stores if you live in the Middle East. BUT, what is the point of buying ashta from the store if you can prepare it at home in no time? And what would people who do not have access to such stores do? Simply, now you can prepare a delicious and easy homemade Lebanese ashta cream in 10 minutes. Yes, the ashta cream recipe is one of the quick easy recipes that you can prepare at home moving forward!
Ashta cream or eshta, ishta, kishta … as pronounced in the different parts of the Middle East, is a luxuriously rich and thick clotted cream made with boiling fresh milk along with sugar, rose water, semolina, and ricotta cheese. The process involves skimming off the thin skin that forms on its surface and continuing boiling until reaching the thickness desired.
If you surf the internet for an ashta recipe, you may end up with different methods from easy to complicated. Some recipes include adding whipping cream along with milk. However, as ashta is originally not sweet, I prefer not to add whipping cream to control the level of sweetness of the ashta. On the other hand, some recipes call for a super easy method that involves dissolving sliced bread in milk along with sugar and end up with a thick cream that resembles the ashta in texture.
This recipe calls for a few ingredients. Here they are:
In a medium cooking pot, dissolve sugar in milk and rose water. Then turn on the heat and start adding the semolina while stirring continuously. Add the milk and starts to boil, the cream will start to thicken and turns into an off-white pudding. Remove the cream from the heat and add the ricotta cheese. Then whisk well until you the ashta cream becomes fluffy and whipped.
Let the ashta cool at room temperature then place it in the fridge until it becomes firm.
Make the ashta ahead of time, such as hours or overnight. This will allow the flavors to work together.
The ideal option is to store ashta in the fridge in an air-tight container. As a rule of thumb, it is better to place a cling film or a plastic sheet right on the surface of the ashta in the container. This will ensure that the top will not dry and will not leave room for any air to sneak in.
*Freezing ashta: ashta does not freeze properly. It can last in the fridge for up to 3 days.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, ashta is a staple when it comes to Middle Eastern desserts. You can have it in multiple forms:
Do you like Arabic sweets Check out these recipes:
Please rate and leave a comment below if you like this article. Let’s connect on social media. You can find me on Pinterest, Tiktok, Instagram, and YouTube. Please follow & subscribe! Thank you for your support!
Enjoy preparing at home this quick easy recipe of Lebanese ashta cream, the staple ingredient in almost every Middle Eastern dessert.
Calories: 86 kcal per serving | Serving size: 1 serving spoon | Number of servings: 6
Total Fat 3 g | Saturated Fat 2 g | Cholesterol 11 mg | Sodium 37 mg | Potassium 36 mg | Total Carbohydrate 10 g | Dietary Fiber 0 g | Sugars 4 g | Protein 5 g | Vitamin A: 1% | Vitamin C: 0% | Calcium: 3% | Iron: 2%
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet