Arabic recipesSweets
Maamoul Mad: Levantine Layered Semolina Cake with Qishta Cream
Maamoul Mad turns traditional stamped holiday cookies into an effortless bakery tray bake, pressing two fragrant layers of ghee-rubbed semolina scented with mahlab and orange blossom water around thick qishta cream or spiced dates. Sliced into golden squares with crushed pistachios, it feeds a crowd.
Also known as:Lebanese maamoul madd bil ashtaTray-baked semolina cream sliceDate or cream maamoul bar
Servings12
Prep time30 min
Cook time30 min
Ingredients
Add ingredients to cart- For the semolina crust: 250 g fine semolina, 250 g medium semolina, 180 g warm melted ghee, 80 g sugar, 1/2 tsp ground mahlab, 1/4 tsp instant yeast, 100 ml lukewarm milk, 2 tbsp orange blossom water
- For the qishta layer: 500 ml whole milk, 3 tbsp cornstarch, 1 tbsp fine semolina, 170 g Arabic qishta, and 1 tbsp orange blossom water
- Alternative date layer: 450 g soft date paste kneaded with 1 tbsp ghee and cinnamon
- Chopped green pistachios and cold blossom syrup to serve
Preparation Steps
- 1Rub both semolinas with sugar, ground mahlab, and warm ghee between your palms and rest for at least 1 hour so the grains absorb the butterfat.
- 2Whisk milk, cornstarch, and semolina over medium heat until thick, stir in qishta and blossom water off the heat, and chill completely.
- 3Fold lukewarm milk, yeast, and orange blossom water gently into the rested semolina without heavy kneading, then divide in half.
- 4Press half the dough into a ghee-brushed baking pan, spread the chilled cream leaving a thin border, and invert the second half flattened on parchment neatly on top.
- 5Bake at 190 °C for 28 to 30 minutes until pale golden, cool until warm, top with pistachios, and serve with cold syrup alongside.
