Mafroukeh

Semolina roasted in butter and kneaded with sugar is spread on a plate, a layer of qishta clotted cream goes over it, and crushed pistachio finishes it. The name means kneaded. The records give its origin as Lebanon, and nothing on hand documents its place in Damascus — it belongs to the Levantine family of desserts built on clotted cream, and it is a close relative of medlouka.

How it is made

The semolina is roasted in butter. When the colour turns and the smell comes up, sugar goes in and the mixture is worked by hand, which is where the name comes from. It is then spread on a tray or straight onto the plate, the cream is smoothed over it, and crushed pistachio goes on last. Qatr syrup and rose water are in it too. The list is short: semolina, butter, sugar, almond, pistachio, pine nuts, syrup, rose water and clotted cream.

Two kinds

The source names both: mafroukeh with qishta and mafroukeh with pistachio. The first is led by the cream layer, the second by the nuts. They are also made together. Telling them apart through the glass can be hard, because pistachio covers the top of either one.

How it differs from medlouka

Medlouka also pours hot semolina onto a plate and finishes it with cream, so from a distance the two look alike. The difference sits in two places. Mafroukeh’s semolina is roasted first and then kneaded, and roasted semolina leaves a grainier texture. The second is the nut ratio: almond, pistachio and pine nuts all go in.

Where to eat it

It is a plate for the middle of the table. A portion of around 200 grams carries 633 calories and 25 grams of fat, most of it saturated. The number also tells you how it is eaten: not as one person’s dessert, but shared a few spoons at a time. Plain coffee alongside balances it.