Halawet el Jibn (Levantine Sweet Cheese and Semolina Rolls)

Halawet el Jibn

Let’s look at the name first, shall we? In Arabic:

• halawet = sweet, sweetness, dessert, along those lines
• el = the (definite article)
• jibn = cheese

So, Halawet el Jibn can be translated as sweetness of the cheese. Or simply, sweet cheese, or even cheese dessert.

Pronunciation

• Halawat = all the syllables are pronounced with the ah sound (silent h).
• el – also the same vowel sound, so like the u sound in mull.
• Jibn – just imagine there is an e between the letters b and n, so ji-ben (as in burn, silent r).

Sweet cheese, you might think. But hey, don’t forget cheesecakes, they are sweet cheese confections, aren’t they? Also, if you’ve been a long time follower of LinsFood, you’ll be familiar with Kunafeh, that other Middle Eastern sweet cheese dessert.

Halawet el Jibn comes from the city of Hama in Syria. Like many other Levantine and Middle Eastern dessert, it has long been a favourite all over the region, even finding its way to the Mediterranean.

It is a must have recipe during Ramadan and for some people, Eid. And because Syria has a sizeable number of Catholics, it is also a recipe for Easter, for many families.

How to make Halawet el Jibn

Making Halawet el Jibn is a fairly straightforward process, even if it does include a little elbow grease, in the making of the semolina-cheese dough. Just like making choux pastry. This is what we’ll be doing:

• Make the rose or orange scented sugar syrup, and leave to cool (no more than 10 minutes).
• Make the cheese dough with water, sugar, fine semolina, mozzarella (traditionally, akkawi) and rose or orange flower water (10 minutes).
• Roll out the semolina-cheese dough and fill with ashta (Middle Eastern clotted cream) or to make it easier, mascarpone cheese, roll into logs and cut (30 minutes for the amount here).
• Drizzle the sugar syrup all over and top with crushed pistachios and crushed rose petals or rose petal jam (5 minutes)

Those are the steps involved. The only part that a first timer may struggle with, is the actual rolling of the dough into logs, as the dough can be a little sticky. This can be solved with using clingfilm to roll and handle the dough or rubbing a tiny amount of tasteless vegetable oil on your hand. You could even use disposable kitchen gloves for this part to stop the dough from sticking to your hands.

Sticky, Mushy Dough?

One of my readers had trouble with the dough, it was just too sticky and mushy.

1. It’s very important to cook the semolina and cheese dough well. Once it comes away from the edges of the pan, keep cooking it for another good 10 seconds.
2. If your dough is too mushy or sticky to work with, put it back in the pan, heat it gently on low heat, and add 1 tsp of semolina and keep stirring. Keep adding the semolina, 1 tsp at a time, until you have a dough that is workable and not mushy.
   You shouldn’t need more than 2-3 tsp.

Halawet el Jibn Recipe

There are a couple of ingredients here that are not going to be easily available to many people, and that’s the cheese for the dough, as well as the cream that is traditionally used to fill the rolls, ashta (aka eshta). So let’s take a look at them, and the substitutes you can use, to make your life easier.

The Cheese for Halawet el Jibn

Traditionally, the cheese used for the semolina dough is akkawi and madjouli. Both are salty and stretchy cheeses.

They need to be soaked and desalted before being used in sweet desserts, which is not really a big deal. The trouble is finding it if you don’t commonly have access to “exotic” ingredients. I’m in the UK, and extremely lucky to have access to all kinds of stuff, spanning the globe. Many, in our local supermarkets, without having to go online.

However, madjoul is virtually impossible, and akkawi is still a bit of a hit and miss. Sometimes, I’ll find it in the local Persian grocer, some 10 minutes away. Sometimes, I can find it online. And the other third of the time (usually when I really, really need it for clients), not a hope in hell.

Mozzarella is a great substitute for Akkawi

So, the next best thing? Mozarella, the perfect akkawi substitute for our halawet el jibn, kunafeh, and any other akkawi based desserts.

If you can, get the harder mozzarella. It will produce a slightly sturdier dough.

It is also a little salty, so you could desalt it before use, if you like. In fact, in the kunafeh recipe here, I suggest doing that. But I’ve long dispensed with the soaking of the mozzarella, just need to update that kunafeh recipe! All I do, is up the sugar level ever so slightly to compensate. The salt in the mozzarella is a great addition to the flavours of your recipe.

Halawet el Jibn Cream Filling

So traditionally, the semolina-cheese dough is filled with ashta, the Middle Eastern clotted cream. It started out life as having been made lovingly and patiently by skimming off the skin on boiling milk, again and again until you have enough, and then clotted with vinegar or lemon juice.

These days, there are many ways of making ashta at home, although if you are in the Middle East somewhere, it’s hardly worth the bother, as you can get the real thing easily in your local shops.

Ashta is easily made with boiling some milk, curdling it with vinegar or lemon juice, then thickening it with some cornflour, or even crustless bread. Then you just whip it smooth, if you like, and flavour with rose or orange blossom water.

Click here for our homemade ashta recipe.

However, if you don’t fancy making ashta from scratch, my favourite ashta substitute is mascarpone – one of the best dessert ingredients that ever lived! I’ve given it as a substitute in the recipe card below.

Mascarpone has such a creamy, well rounded flavour that makes it the perfect (better?) substitute for cream in any situation.

Toppings for the Semolina Cheese Rolls

The sweet cheese rolls are fairly bland on their own, with just a hint of sweet and flower power. It is the drizzle of the sugar syrup and the toppings that complete halawet el jibn. This combination of pistachios and flower water is a very, very traditional combination when it comes to desserts throughout the Middle East.

Let’s take a look at how we’ll be topping them.

Ground Pistachios

The ground pistachios add not only a pop of colour but also, a creamy nutty layer of flavour. You don’t need much, just a tablespoon or two.

I prefer to grind the pistachios myself, instead of buying them ground, for a fresher taste.

Ground Dried, Edible Rose Petals

Edible rose petals are a favourite ingredient of mine, in both sweet and savoury recipes. These are easily bought online and at specialist shops. If you are in the UK, Waitrose stocks them.

Otherwise, you know Amazon does, click here for the ones I use (affiliate link).

Dried edible rose petals are best used crushed, or ground to a fairly fine state. This way, they become part of the recipe, and you get to enjoy the aroma and flavour without having to bite into a paper-like, damp piece that doesn’t particularly taste great! That’s the only way I can think to describe it!

All I do is place them in my coffee/spice mill and blitz them. They last indefinitely, although after a few months, you’ll probably notice a marked decrease in aroma. Store them like you would any spice, covered, and out of light.

Rose Petal Jam

This adds a lovely, reddish pink look on your halawet el jibn. Rose petal jam is a rather delicious jam that smells and tastes like roses. In the summer, when our organic roses are in full bloom, some of the red ones answer to a higher calling, and get turned into rose water, rose syrup and rose jam.

However, if I need rose petal jam out of season, this is the one I get on Amazon (affiliate link).

And here’s my homemade rose petal jam recipe, if like me, you love flexing those culinary muscles!

I must confess though that I prefer having halawet el jibn without the rose petal jam. Which might explain why I forgot to top them for the photoshoot! 🤦‍♀️

How long will Halawet el Jibn Keep?

Any extra can be kept in the fridge in an airtight container. Halawet el Jibn will keep happily in the fridge for 5 days. In fact, I rather think the flavour improves on the second day. But like cheesecakes, their freshness is at its peak in the first 3 days.

You can serve these sweet cheese rolls straight out of the fridge if you like, something I personally love. Or, you can leave them out for 30 minutes, to come to room temperature, before serving.

So there you have it, a delicious recipe to try out soon and wow your guests. Shall we get our aprons on?

If you enjoy the recipe, drop me a comment and let me know. And if you are feeling like a star, don’t forget that 5-star rating! Shukran!

And if you make the recipe, share it on any platform and tag me @azlinbloor, and hashtag it #linsfood

Lin xx

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