Aish El Saraya – Lebanese Desserts

Aish El Saraya

I was asked to make delicious Lebanese dessert ( bread pudding ) called Aish El Saraya

Never tried it myself but got tempted as I’m a big fan of middle eastern sweets and desserts. Googled a recipe for Aish El Saraya and to my surprise I came across so many different variations of one dessert . I put down a recipe of my own by gathering all the main ingredients that I found during my searches.

Loved how it turned out, one word : delicious !




Hope you guys try my recipe of the delicious Lebanese sweet Aish El Saraya and enjoy as much as we did!

Ingredients 

For the base

1 pack of white sandwich bread ( I used only ¾ of the pack, you can use entire pack for thicker layer)

For the syrup

1 cup of water

1 ⅓ cups of sugar

Juice of one lemon , about a tablespoon or a bit more

2 tbs orange blossom syrup

2 tbs rose water , both can be found in any Mediterranean supermarkets

For the cream filling




1 ½ cups of cold milk, I used full fat

4 tbs cornstarch

1 cup of heavy whipping cream,at room temperature ,preferably full fat

8-12 oz ( about 300 grams) creme fraiche or cream cheese,at room temperature

3 tbs sugar

2 tbs rose water

2 tbs orange blossom syrup

You will also need about 1-2 cups coarsely chopped pistachios

Directions 

To make the base

Toast the bread until golden color, use toaster or oven, 400°F/200°C degrees 10-15 minutes

Use a processor to turn it into fine crumbs, you can also use slices or cubes of toasted bread as a base

To make the syrup

In a heavy bottom saucepan combine sugar and water

Cook over high heat until it comes to a boil

Reduce the heat to medium add the juice of one lemon and allow to simmer about 5-7 minutes

Remove from the heat, add rosewater and orange blossom syrup, mix and set aside

To make the cream filling

In a heavy bottom saucepan combine cold milk and cornstarch, whisk until no lumps left

Place over medium heat and bring to a boil by constantly stirring with a whisk

The mixture will thicken as it cooks

Remove from the heat, add creme fraiche and continue mixing

Add in heavy whipping cream, rose water and orange blossom syrup while mixing constantly

Assembling Aish El Saraya 

You can use a 9”x13” pan or 9” round springform pan to assemble

Mix together breadcrumbs and sugar syrup, save about ¼ cup of the syrup to drizzle over served slices

Place the mixture in the pan and lightly tap to form the bottom crumb, I use a measuring cup

Pour the cream filling on top and spread out to make it even and smooth

Sprinkles with pistachios

Chill about 5-7 hours and serve

Enjoy!