Layali lubnan
Layali lubnan, “Lebanese nights”, is a popular Lebanese dessert — homely, often made during Ramadan and for family gatherings, and found in pastry shops too. It is simple, cool and striking. A layer of semolina pudding cooked in milk with orange blossom water, topped with whipped cream, banana slices and pistachios, with syrup for everyone to pour over their own portion. The original uses ashta, a thick Lebanese cream; whipped cream is the easy home substitute. It must be made a few hours ahead so the semolina sets and cools completely.
Your own work in that: 20 min.
- Syrup 10 min
- Semolina pudding 15 min
- Cooling 30 min
- Chilling the pudding 120 min
- Whipped cream 10 min
- Assembling 10 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneMake the syrup
Boil the sugar with the water and lemon juice for 5 minutes until slightly thickened. Off the heat, add the rose water and cool.
Ingredients: 100 g sugar · 80 ml water · 1 tsp lemon juice · 1 tsp rose water
Heat the milk
Bring the milk and sugar to the boil in a heavy pan.
Ingredients: 1000 ml whole milk · 100 g semolina · 80 g sugar · 1 tbsp orange blossom water
Add the semolina
Pour in the semolina in a thin stream, whisking constantly, and cook over low heat for 6–8 minutes until very thick. Stir in the orange blossom water at the end.
Ingredients: 1000 ml whole milk · 100 g semolina · 80 g sugar · 1 tbsp orange blossom water
Semolina in a thin stream — no lumps.Pour into the dish
Pour the hot pudding into a dish of about 20 × 30 cm (a layer about 2 cm deep), level it and leave 30 minutes to cool.
Ingredients: 1000 ml whole milk · 100 g semolina · 80 g sugar · 1 tbsp orange blossom water
Chill the pudding
Cover the dish and refrigerate at least 2 hours, until the pudding is fully set and cold — whipped cream melts on a warm one.
Ingredients: 1000 ml whole milk · 100 g semolina · 80 g sugar · 1 tbsp orange blossom water
Whip the cream
Whip the cold cream with the icing sugar to stiff peaks. Spread it evenly over the cold pudding. If serving later, return the dessert to the fridge at this point, for a few hours at most.
Ingredients: 400 ml whipping cream (30%), cold · 40 g icing sugar · 2 pcs bananas · 40 g unsalted pistachios, chopped
Whipped cream in place of Lebanese ashta.Add bananas and pistachios
Just before serving, slice the bananas and arrange them over the cream — earlier, they darken — then scatter the chopped pistachios over everything.
Ingredients: 400 ml whipping cream (30%), cold · 40 g icing sugar · 2 pcs bananas · 40 g unsalted pistachios, chopped
Green pistachios — the signature.Cut and serve
Cut into squares and serve at once, with the syrup in a jug for everyone to pour over their portion.
Ingredients: 100 g sugar · 80 ml water · 1 tsp lemon juice · 1 tsp rose water
Before you start
Ashta
Lebanese ashta is a thick cream made from starch-thickened milk or gathered milk skin. For a denser layer closer to the original, whip the cream with 125 g of mascarpone.
Orange blossom water
Middle Eastern shops, larger supermarkets (in the baking aisle) and online shops sell it. It is very fragrant — a tablespoon per litre of milk is plenty; more tastes of perfume.
Storage
Keep it covered in the fridge for up to 2 days. Always add the bananas just before serving.
