Qatayef with Cream and Pistachio
Small pancakes cooked on one side only, folded around sweet cream and dipped in syrup. The dessert of Ramadan across the Arab world.
Why it works for Iftar
- It is made and eaten almost exclusively during Ramadan, which is part of what makes the month feel like the month.
- The batter and syrup can both be made hours ahead, leaving only the filling and folding for the evening.
- Small portions mean a shared plate goes a long way after a full meal.
Ingredients
- 250 g plain flour
- 2 tbsp fine semolina
- 1 tbsp sugarfor the batter
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp dried yeast
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 500 ml warm waterabout 40 °C
- 400 g ashta or thick clotted creamor ricotta beaten with 2 tbsp icing sugar
- 100 g pistachiosfinely chopped
- 300 g sugarfor the syrup
- 150 ml waterfor the syrup
- 1 tbsp lemon juicefor the syrup
- 1 tsp rose wateror orange blossom water
Method
- 1Make the syrup10 min
Bring 300 g sugar and 150 ml water to a boil, add 1 tbsp lemon juice, and simmer 8 to 10 minutes until slightly thickened. Stir in 1 tsp rose water and leave to cool completely. Cold syrup on warm qatayef is what keeps them from going soggy.
- 2Mix the batter5 min
Whisk 250 g flour, 2 tbsp semolina, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp yeast and 1/4 tsp salt with 500 ml warm water until completely smooth and about the consistency of single cream.
- 3Rest the batter30 min
Cover and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes until the surface is covered in small bubbles. This is what gives the pancakes their open, holey top.
- 4Cook on one side only20 min
Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat with no oil. Pour in about 2 tbsp batter per pancake. Cook for 60 to 90 seconds until the top is dry and covered in holes and the base is pale golden. Do not turn them. Stack under a cloth so they stay pliable.
- 5Fill and fold15 min
Spoon about 1 tbsp of cream onto the holey side of each pancake, fold into a half-moon and pinch the edge firmly from one end to the other so it seals completely.
- 6Finish5 min
Dip the open edge in the chopped pistachios and drizzle with the cooled syrup just before serving.
Notes that make the difference
- Cook one side only. If you turn them, the top loses its holes and the cream will not stick.
- Seal the edge properly by pinching, not pressing flat, or they open up on the plate.
- Cool syrup, warm pancakes. The other way round makes them heavy.
Storing and reheating
Unfilled pancakes keep 2 days refrigerated between sheets of baking paper. Fill on the day.
Substitutions
- Nut filling: 200 g walnuts with 2 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon, then fried instead of served fresh.
- Dairy-free: sweetened coconut cream, thickened and chilled.
Cooking times assume a standard domestic hob and oven and will vary with your equipment. No nutritional figures are given: calculating them reliably needs the exact brand and weight of every ingredient, and an invented number would be worse than none. If you are managing a health condition, follow your doctor’s dietary advice.