Ashta, our Lebanese cream is the foundation for all pastries; yet it does not contain cream.
Sure, there was a time when ashta was pure cream. Nowadays, it is made with milk (frequently powdered milk in Lebanon), fresh American-style toast and flavorings!
The result: a clotted cream that tastes fresh and light, without any cream
Such is the genius of Lebanese pastry chefs.
You can make it with powdered milk, milk (whole or lowfat), half-and-half, or a combo of milk and whipping cream (which is usually my choice).
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 cups of milk (I prefer to use half-and-half) (1/2 milk and half whipping cream)
- 3 pieces of American-style white bread (like Wonder bread)
- 3 (generous) Tablespoons of cornstarch (30 g or 1.1 ounces)
- 1 teaspoon of orange blossom water, 1 teaspoon of rose water
- 1 Tablespoon of sugar (optional: if you are serving the dessert with a syrup, don’t add sugar to ashta)
METHOD:
- Remove the crust from the bread and cut the bread in dice. Place the bread in a saucepan with the milk.
(at this point, you can let the bread soak in the milk all day in the fridge or a few hours)
- Dissolve the cornstarch in 1/4 cup of water.
- Heat the milk and bread stirring from time to time, add the sugar (if using) and when the mixture starts steaming, add the cornstarch mixture. Stir continuously for two minutes, until the mixture thickens; add the rose and orange blossom water and remove from the heat.
- Let it cool and store in the fridge a few hours before using to let it thicken completely. The “cream” (ashta) will keep a few days.
NOTE: All Lebanese creams and puddings are thickened with cornstarch (or wheat starch); sometimes, you will find that the cornstarch was not sufficient and the cream or pudding is not getting thick; it is OK to add more cornstarch, starting with one tablespoon, diluted in a bit of liquid to get it thicker, and it should then thicken within one minute.
69 Comments
@Sylvia: the bread bits will melt but it will give texture to the cream; I agree with you a little fat is always better; my choice is 1 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of whipping cream.
I remember the first time I had ashta-I wondered about it! I had no idea what was in it. It’s gorgeous and unusual!
je ne savais pas qu’on mettait du pain de mie dedans, c’est vrai que ça doit donner une texture plus ferme!! merci Joumana et bonne journée! bises! kouky
Joumana, this looks so good. I have never made Ashta before but always love to eat it
I am definitely going to make this. It looks sooooooooo Good!
How interesting…if this can be made with milk powder, then I’m sure I could make this with powdered soymilk!
that is an extremely interesting “cream”. Thanks for the informative post now I know how it is made. It has been quite a while since I last had some, now maybe I will have to make it myself.
This is so intriguing, light and simple to make.
Mimi
Je n’aurais jamais cru que c’était si simple de faire l’Ashta! Est-ce que ça ira avec du pain blanc libanais?
Viviane: il faut utiliser du pain de mie; c’est la mie tendre qui donne la texture souhaitée de crème épaisse.
une belle découverte pour moi que je note!! merci
Amazing!! But I’m pretty sure they sell no rose or orange blossom water here
Yeah, it’s good, very useful, thanks
I am so intrigued by this delicious sounding dish, I cannot wait to try it. I have never heard of adding bread to cream like this, and of course your photos just make it all the more tempting.
Hello Joumana,
I was wondering what made you modify your earlier ashta recipe? This new recipe has more bread and cornstarch — is that because you now use skim milk instead of half-and-half?
http://www.tasteofbeirut.com/2009/06/clotted-cream-homemade/
Hi Elizabeth: I simply tried it again and it did not set enough so I added more cornstarch to be sure it got thick enough. I still use half-and-half though, it just tastes better.
i personnally find you dont need to go through all that. just bring milk to a ‘just-boil’ and add some lemon, or any other acid, vinegar for ex, i prefer lemon (just less than half a lemon would do for 1 L of milk). then the milk will start to curd, so you have to stir a bit to curd it up to the fullest. remember the higher the milk temperature, the less acid you will need. and the less the temperature, the more acid. you can use any type of fresh milk, pasturized or not. then you just have to strain the curd with a cloth for about 30min depending on the texture you want it to have.
then you have your ashta! (or ricotta, or paneer, a lot of cultures used this kind of curding) yummy and perfet. you can use it for salty of sugary treat. it is at this point that you can blend in any flavor (rose, orange blossom…)
no need for corn starch, or industrial white bread with all the ikky stuff in it! you say cream is what is heavy on the stomach, i say chemicals and starches is what upsets ur body!
try it and you’ll never go back! promise.
@Sola: Thanks for you valuable input! I have tried this technique once but thought that it required a lot more milk than I wanted to use and the other technique is easier for smaller quantities.
do u mean two cups of powder milk or dissolved milk?and can we use the fresh milk?
@Farah: I mean two cups of dissolved milk; yes, fresh milk is fine.
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