Homemade Lebanese ashta cream (Middle Eastern clotted cream)
Middle Eastern Kunafa or Knafeh
June 1, 2022
Znoud el sit Lebanese sweets
June 5, 2022
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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!
So, in a nutshell, what is ashta cream?
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.
What are the Ingredients of this recipe?
This recipe calls for a few ingredients. Here they are:
- Milk: whole milk is the best to prepare ashta cream. You want a creamy rich ashta and whole milk is what will yield the best results.
- Sugar: in a small amount. Ashta should not be so sweet. It is added to sweets and topped with sugar syrup.
- Semolina: it is added to thicken the cream. You can use flour and cornstarch. However, semolina makes a great addition to Middle Eastern desserts.
- Rosewater: it boosts and enhances the flavor of the ashta cream. You may use orange blossom water instead, however, rose water had a special taste when added to ashta.
- Ricotta cheese: this is the last ingredient added to the ashta cream. It enhances the flavor and the texture at the same time.
How to prepare ashta cream?
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.
Tips for the best ashta
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.
How to store ashta cream?
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.
How to serve ashta?
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:
- In maamoul madd as a filling
- Topping a mafroukeh plate
- Inside the znoud el sit rolls
- As a filling of halawet el jibn
- With the famous atayef asafiri
- As kunfafa bil ashta instead of cheese
- Solely with sugar syrup or as a spread over crusty toast bread
- Ashta can serve as well as one of the ingredients to prepare the Arabic ice cream pretty known in the Levant as ashta ice cream.
Do you like Arabic sweets Check out these recipes:
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Enjoy preparing at home this quick easy recipe of Lebanese ashta cream, the staple ingredient in almost every Middle Eastern dessert.
Instructions
- In a medium cooking pot, add milk, rose water, and sugar.
- Whisk well until the sugar is well dissolved in the milk.
- Turn on the heat and start adding the semolina while stirring continuously.
- Continue whisking until it comes to a boil.
- Once the milk thickens and turns into off-white color, turn off the heat.
- Pour in the ricotta and whisk well.
- Continue whisking until you see that all ingredients are well incorporated and you have a fluffy, whipped, and creamy ashta.
- Set the ashta cream aside to cool then store in the fridge in an air-tight container for 3 to 4 hours to become firm.
Notes
- You can swap semolina with flour and cornstarch. Make sure to use the same amount divided equally between both ingredients.
- Do not freeze the ashta. It will lose its consistency and flavor after thawing.
Nutrition
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
