Focus on the mouhalabieh, the Lebanese flan flavored with orange blossom

At Libshop, our flagship dessert is the Libshop flan. This sweetness made from milk flavored with orange blossom is our version of mouhalabieh, a Lebanese dessert of Persian origin that is extremely popular around the world.

The Mouhalabieh, kesako?

THE muhalabieh is a cooked milk pudding made from rice, sugar, rice flour and milk. It is usually served with sugar syrup and pieces of pistachios. Some recipes incorporate rose water, bitter almond or honey.

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It is a very popular dessert because it is very simple and its taste is quite universal.

The Mouhalabieh and its variants

The Mouhalabieh exists in different versions depending on the region and country. It exists in Turkey, in Israel (the “malabi”), in Cyprus, and the recipes are very different depending on the places where it is cooked.

Originally a Persian recipe

Legend has it that muhalabieh was introduced into Arab cuisine at the end of the 7th century by a Persian cook who served it to a famous Arab general by the name ofAl-Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra. He loved it so much that he gave it his own name: Muhallabieh.

The best muhalabieh recipe

Many cookbooks feature recipes for muhalabieh. I chose to share with you the one I found on this blog, which would be the recipe for the famous Maison Aleph, located in the Marais in Paris.

For 5 people:

For the milk cream

• 75g cornstarch
• 1 liter of whole milk
• 50 g of caster sugar (the chef uses 125 g of sugar but as I add rose syrup I prefer to reduce the amount of powdered sugar)
• 75g orange blossom water

For the pistachio cream

• 25g brown sugar
• 250g full cream
• 35g pistachio paste
• 1g fleur de sel
• 2 egg yolks

For the finish

• whole shelled pistachios and pistachio slivers.

Preparation

• Dissolve the cornstarch in a small amount of cold milk to avoid lumps forming and mix well.
• Add and mix all the amount of milk and sugar to this pre-mix in a saucepan. Bring everything to a boil while whisking constantly. Once boiling, lower the heat and continue whisking. As soon as the mixture thickens, remove from heat.
• Then add the orange blossom water and mix. Pour the cream into small individual jars and put them in the fridge for 4 hours.

pistachio cream

• Pour the brown sugar, cream, pistachio paste into a saucepan. Bring everything to a boil. Then, off the heat, add the egg yolks and mix everything. Bring everything to a boil
• Leave to cool and fill a piping bag with the cream.
• Take the cold milk cream verrines out of the fridge and pour a tablespoon of rose syrup on top.
• Then pipe the pistachio cream over the cooled milk cream.
• Sprinkle with pistachio chips and whole pistachios just before serving.

Where to find a good muhalabieh in Paris?

At Maison Aleph, which offers a superb muhalabieh. And at Libshop, which you will find under the name of "Flan Libshop", and which is one of our bestsellers!

Order your Libshop delivery on the Libshop website or app.