Do you like soft and fragrant desserts? Discover the Mouhalabieh, This Lebanese flan with orange blossom that melts our customers with every bite 🍮✨ At Libshop, we revisited it to make it a signature sweet, between tradition and modernity. Recipe and legend to discover in the article 👇

What exactly is mouhalabieh?

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.

This is a very popular dessert because it's very simple and its taste is quite universal. And simple things are often the best.

The Mouhalabieh and its variants

Mouhalabieh exists in different versions depending on the region and country, and the recipes vary greatly depending on 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.

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.
• Remove the chilled cream glasses from the fridge and pour a tablespoon of rose syrup over them.
• 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 Libshop, quite simply!

Order your Libshop delivery on the Libshop website or app.