Halawet el Jeben (Sweet Cheese Rolls)

Halawet el Jeben is an old traditional Lebanese dessert. It is made out of cheese, semolina, filled with a cheese custard mix, and topped with sugar and rose blossom water served under the shape of sweet soft strips. The city of Tripoli, the northern capital of Lebanon, is considered as the best manufacturer of this kind of desserts.

It is so luscious you’ll get addicted!

Ingredients

Roll dough

400g mozzarella block

3/4 cup semolina (~ 150g)

3/4 cup water + orange flower water (50/50) (~ 200 mL)

Stuffing

250 g ricotta

250g mascarpone

To serve

sugar syrup with orange flower water: a cup of sugar + cup + 2 water flower water orange cs + qq drops of lemon juice

unsalted pistachios ground

Preparation

Prepare the syrup: In a saucepan heat the sugar, water and orange flower water. Bring to a boil and boil for several minutes until the syrup thickens (it is important not it colors). Add lemon.

Prepare 2 rectangular trays (about 25 * 35 cm), or better a marble slab and pour the cold syrup, spread it on the surface.

The filling: whisk the ricotta and mascarpone to soften. Book aside.

Chop the mozzarella in food processor or you can just shred it.

In a frying pan / skillet (nonstick is important!), Cook semolina few minutes, until the smell feels (do not wait until it changes color), then add the cheese. Mix and add on liquid (water and orange blossom water).

Mix thoroughly until a dough block. Remove from heat.

Place half of the dough on the first tray, dip your hands in the cold syrup and spread over the entire surface. Repeat on the second.

Add the stuffing on one side across the width (the dough will already have had time to cool but wait a bit). Roll (2 revolutions), cut the first roll obtained. Repeat. 4 rolls per tray is obtained (you can pre-cut 4 rectangles and then train your putting).

Refrigerate.

Refrigerate out some time before serving (to avoid stuffing from melting).

Cut (about the size of a mouthful), sprinkle with pistachios and sprinkle sugar syrup (ater) at the last moment.

Enjoy!

Orange Muffins with Dried Cranberries

Aromatic, soft, not to sweet morning muffins that are great for a low dose of sugar as breakfast or any kind of snack.

The orange juice adds a nice taste and additional sweetness while using very little sugar.  If you do not have dried cranberries, I am sure raisins would be fine and still delicious.  

The topping gives it additional sweetness while reserving the taste of the original muffin itself.  The cinnamon of it mixed with the nutmeg in the muffin give this muffin a very delicious taste to it!

Orange Muffins with Dried Cranberries

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
Zest of 1 orange
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/3 cup low-fat milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2/3 cup dried cranberries

Topping

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Method

Preheat oven to 190.5°C and line a 12-cup standard muffin pan with baking cups (I buttered and coated with flour instead because I had no muffin cups, and I made 9 instead of 12); coat baking cups with cooking spray. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the mixture. Combine orange zest, orange juice, milk, oil, and egg in a medium bowl; add to flour mixture and stir just until combined. Gently fold in cranberries and fill each baking cup 3/4 full of batter. 

 Mix together sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle evenly over muffins. Bake for 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let muffins cool in pan on a wire rack for 2 minutes before removing from pan to serve warm or cool completely. Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days.

Yield – 10 muffins (serving size: 1 muffin)
Calories – 166
Carbs – 26

ENJOY!!

Flan

This delicious cold dessert is to die for!! Specially since it is sweetened with condensed milk, and this is the first time I add to it heavy cream..A Brazilian friend told me to add it and yummy, it turned out soo delicious!

Since this required a little more effort to prepare it, I thought of adding pictures to make it easier.

Prior to doing the flan, we have to do the caramel. So for this we need:

2 cups of sugar (regular, granulated)
1/2 cup of hot water

Lets start by putting the 2 cups of sugar in the flan form which is usually the one with the hole in the middle and heat it to let it melt. What worked for me is to increase the heat and decrease it every once in a while, I would increase it and the sugar would start melting and the low heat would allow them to settle and melt the rest. Do what works for you!



After all sugar has melted, step away a little from the pan and pour the hot water. Be careful because it will boil and maybe splash around. Few second and it will calm down. Keep whisking.


Once it reached below picture, spread around the caramel. You can do this by moving the pan in circular motion or maybe using a brush or a spoon.
Now we get to do the Flan.

Ingredients
2 cans of condensed milk
2 cans of milk (measure with the condensed milk can)
200-250ml of heavy cream
3 eggs
1 tbsp of corn flour

Method
Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Blend all ingredients. Pour them on the caramelized form. Set banhe-marie method and cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45min. Remove foil and bake another 15min until toothpick comes out clean.


Once cooked, put in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours. I love leaving it overnight, and it is ok to leave it for a day or 2 before serving. Just slowing flip it on a big plate and here is the beauty!


ENJOY!!!

Atayef (Mini pancake with cream)

These small pancake are very famous in Lebanon. Specially in Ramadan. They are a unique type of pancake that is only cooked on one side! and it is so much fun to eat it too! It might sound difficult but believe me it is not!!

For Pancake

Ingredients

• 1 cup of AP flour
• 1 cup fine semolina
• 1 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 tsp of dry yeast
• 1 tbsp of dry milk powder
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda
• 1/2 tsp of baking powder
• 1 tbsp of sugar

Method:

1. Proof the yeast by combining it with 1/4 cup of warm water, a teaspoon of sugar; place in a warm place and let it foam.

2. In a small bowl, sift the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda; mix with a wire whisk.

3. Pour one cup of warm water into a bowl; add the powdered milk and stir to combine well.

4. Mix with the wire whisk; add the flour mixture and stir; the consistency should be a little thicker than a crêpe batter. If the batter is too thick, add a little water.

5. Heat a crêpe or pancake nonstick skillet till very hot; grease it with a half teaspoon of oil or spray it; place the equivalent of 1/4 cup of batter in the skillet to form a circle. Let it cook for a few minutes on one side; when it has formed little bubbles and it looks dry, take it out onto a plate. Do not flip it.

6. As soon as all the atayefs are cooked, fill them with some ashta (cream), a bit of cherry coulis, pinching on one end to form a spoon shape and place in a serving platter; serve right away or within one hour.

7. I sprinkled them with ground pistachio and cherry on the middle a piece of maraschino cherries.

For the filling (Ashta or Cream)

• 3 cups of milk powder
• 2 cups of water
• 1 tbsp of corn starch
• 1 tbsp of rose water

Method:
Mix all in a pan and bring to boil. Wait till it thickens, then turn off and move to a serving dish to be used when filling the pancakes.

For the syrup:

• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1tsp of rose water
  

METHOD:

For the syrup:

Place the sugar and water in a saucepan; bring to a boil and add the lemon juice; boil the syrup for 8 minutes or until it gets a bit syrupy (test it on the back of a spoon and see if running your finger will leave a mark). Add the flavorings and simmer a few seconds more then turn off the heat and let the syrup cool. This can be done several weeks ahead and the syrup kept in a jar tightly closed in the fridge.

ENJOY!

New York Style Cheesecake

Did anyone say Cheesecake? Yum yum. Topped with blueberries, strawberries, even plain, its just to-die-for. When I think about making a cheesecake 'cracking' comes to my mind. I hate it if it cracks, and yes it has happened few times, but the times that doesn't crack, I LOVE IT! This recipe I saw it over www.bakerella.com and the pictures made me want to try it! It looks so delicious! So I did, and the outcome? My Goodness. Delicioso!

Cheesecake
Adapted from www.bakerella.com

2.5 cups graham cracker crumbs

2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted

4 (8oz.) packages cream cheese
1.5 cups sugar
3 Tbsp flour
5 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Method

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees
• Combine graham cracker crumbs and sugar.
• Stir in melted butter until moistened.
• Pour the mixture into a cheesecake pan. Press the crumbs into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of the pan.
• Bake for about 10 minutes. Remove and cool to room temperature.
• To make the cheesecake filling, cream the sugar, cream cheese and flour with an electric mixer on medium until light and fluffy.
• On medium low, add eggs one at a time, mixing well with each addition.
• On low, add sour cream, lemon juice and vanilla just until combined.
• Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes at 325.
• Make sure to take it out of the oven before the center looks done. It will be kind of wobbly and it will move in one piece. The center will look more shiny than the edges. That’s ok because it will continue to cook a little while it’s in the pan.
• Remove from the oven and let cool completely to room temperature.
• Hope that it doesn’t crack.
• Go ahead and separate the cheesecake from the sides of the pan by running a knife around the edges.
• Let it cool and refrigerate minimum 4 hours. It also tastes great stored overnight.
• Top with whatever you desire, in my case I used the cheesecake strawberry topping.

Buen provecho!