Levantine layered pastries filled with ashta (clotted cream) and drenched in cold sugar syrup, garnished with pistachio
We make Shuaybiyat the way they are made in the homes of the Levant for holidays: a thin dough brushed with butter and folded several times until it flakes, then filled with ashta and baked until golden.
Their secret is drenching them with cold sugar syrup while they are hot so they stay crisp on the outside and soft in their filling, and we garnish them with pistachio to complete their grandeur on the hospitality table.
Mix the flour with the sodium bicarbonate, ghee, and sugar syrup, then add the water gradually and knead until you get a smooth, cohesive dough, and leave it to rest for fifteen minutes.
Shape the dough into a cylinder and cut it into equal-sized balls, and leave them to rest a little until they soften and are easy to roll out.
Roll out each ball thinly, brush it with the softened butter, then fold it and repeat the rolling and brushing several times until flaky layers form.
Place a spoonful of ashta on the edge of the rolled-out dough, fold it into a triangle or a cylinder, and seal its edges well so the filling does not leak.
Arrange them on a tray and bake them in an oven preheated to two hundred degrees for about twenty minutes until their tops turn golden and flaky.
Drench them with the cold sugar syrup as soon as they come out of the oven so they keep their crispness, garnish them with the crushed pistachio, and serve.
The glycemic index (GI) measures how quickly a food raises blood sugar, while the glycemic load (GL) measures how much a full serving raises it. Together they give the complete picture.
A low value (≤55) means a gradual rise in blood sugar — the most suitable range for diabetes and insulin resistance.
Glycemic load reflects the impact of the full serving. To lower it: take half a serving, or pair the recipe with a source of protein and fiber.
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet per FDA food-label reference values — your daily needs may be higher or lower. Values are derived from the recipe's ingredients via the USDA database.
The most common problems when preparing Shuaybiyat (Levantine Layered Cream Pastry with Ashta and Pistachio), and how to fix them:
Make sure the syrup is cold and the pastries are hot when drenching, and do not submerge them in the syrup but sprinkle it lightly.
Brush each rolled sheet with softened butter and repeat the folding and rolling, and let the dough rest between folds so the layers set.
Use a firm ashta and seal the edges of the dough well, and do not overfill so it does not spill out.
Keep them without syrup in an airtight container for two days, and drench them with syrup at serving so they stay crisp.
After drenching with syrup, they keep in the refrigerator for one day, but they lose some of their crispness, so it is best to eat them the same day.
| Original Ingredient | Tested Substitute | Ratio | Flavor Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| ashta (clotted cream) | homemade milk ashta or sweetened curd cheese | same weight, 200 g | Homemade ashta is lower in fat than store-bought |
| butter | traditional ghee | same weight, 100 g | Ghee gives a deeper Levantine flavor and a clearer aroma |
| pistachio | crushed walnuts or almonds | same weight, 20 g | The flavor differs while the garnish stays crunchy |
| sugar syrup | diluted syrup or thinned honey | to taste | Diluting the syrup reduces the sugar a little while keeping the sweet character |
| Ingredient | Half the amount | Amount (base) | Double |
|---|---|---|---|
| White flour | 125 g | 250 g | 500 g |
| Butter for layering | 50 g | 100 g | 200 g |
| Ashta for filling | 100 g | 200 g | 400 g |
| Cold sugar syrup | 40 ml | 80 ml | 160 ml |
| Pistachios | 10 g | 20 g | 40 g |
Drench the hot Shuaybiyat with cold, not hot, sugar syrup, for the temperature difference between the pastries and the syrup is what preserves their crispness and prevents them from soaking up too much.
The EEINA app saves your favorite recipes, calculates them from their real ingredients, and shows your daily numbers toward your goal. Try it free now.
