About

Halawet El Jibn, my favorite pastry as a kid until now! A classic Levantine dessert that is more fluffy and rich than it is sweet. People don’t necessarily think of cheese when they think dessert, but one taste of this delectable delicacy will change your mind! Unlike other Levantine desserts (think Knafeh), Halawet el Jibn is great at any temperature!

Ingredients

For Syrup

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup water
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• ³⁄₄ teaspoon orange blossom water
• ³⁄₄ teaspoon rose water

For Halawet El Jibn (Sweet cheese rolls)

• 1 ¹⁄₂ cup of water
• ³⁄₄ cup sugar
• 1 cup fine semolina
• 28 g of sweet cheese (or mozzarella cheese), shredded or sliced thin
• 1 tablespoon rose water
• 1 tablespoon orange blossom water
  

For Filling

• 8 oz of mascarpone cheese
• 1 tablespoon of almond milk
• ¹⁄₄ cup shredded sweet cheese (or mozzarella)

Instructions

Making Syrup

1. In the small saucepan, combine together the sugar, water, and squeeze of lemon juice. Set on the stove top over medium high heat.

2. Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for no longer than 10 minutes.

3. Stir in orange blossom and rose water.

4. Transfer to jar and chill in fridge.

Making Filling

1. Mix together the mascarpone cheese with the shredded sweet cheese in a bowl. Add almond milk until texture turns lite, but not too watery.

Making Halawet el Jibn

1. Over medium-high heat, heat together water and sugar in saucepan, stirring frequently until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and add fine semolina, stirring with a spoon or spatula until well combined and thickened.

2. Reduce heat, then add sweet cheese and rose water, and stir until cheese melts and the mixture forms a soft consistent dough. Let it cool before handling.

3. Divide the dough into however many pieces you see fit; take 1 part of the dough to work with and cover the other pieces. Turn out the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and cover with another sheet. Roll out the dough between the 2 sheets of plastic wrap into a rectangle. Remove the top plastic sheet.

4. Fill a ziplock bag with your filling and snip off an inch of the tip. Start piping on the long side closest to you, leaving an inch border.

5. Using the plastic wrap under the dough, lift the dough and roll it over your filling, until the filling is completely covered, the dough seals it in and looks like a thin log. Use a knife to make a cut along side of the log to slice it off the rest of the dough. Repeat this process.

6. Repeat with other pieces of dough.

7. Arrange the rolls on a platter, sprinkle each with ground pistachios in the center and rose petal jam or dried rose petals.

8. Drizzle with syrup and enjoy!