Ashta cream recipe also known as Ishta , Qishta is a Middle Eastern clotted cream. This traditional cream is one of the key ingredient in many Middle Eastern desserts like Kunafa, Qatayef. Making this Ashta cream at home is easy and only needs 5 ingredients, no hours of simmering, no heavy equipments and less than 1 hour.
Homemade Ashta Recipe
I have been seeing this recipe all over my feed which made me try it immediately. When I did the research I found that it requires lots of simmering on stove, some recipes uses too much flour and cornstarch which I was not a fan of.
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I wanted to make Ashta recipe that tastes like clotted cream without too much thickener. So you get the creamy texture without tasting like pudding. Few years back I attempted to make clotted cream at home. Clotted cream doesn’t have cornstarch in them, so I modified that recipe and create this one.
About Ashta Cream (Qishta)
Ashta cream also known as Qishta, Ishta is a Middle Eastern clotted cream. Traditionally made with cream, milk which is boiled for hours on low heat. This boiled milk is let to rest for more hours and the top thickened part is collected and served as Ashta.
It is called in many different names all over the world. Like Eshta, Kishta, Kashta, Qashta, Gishta, or Qishta. Turkey has a similar recipe known as Kaymak. But many people know it by the name Middle Eastern clotted cream, or Lebanese clotted cream or Arabic Clotted cream.
It is also known as traditional Middle Eastern clotted cream, especially popular with the Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Jordan. The Arabic word قشطة (qashta) is referred to thick cream that forms on the surface of slow simmered milk.
Ashta has a very old culinary history associated with it. It is mainly made for preserving milk for longer period of time. The whole milk is simmered and the cream which is naturally formed on top of milk is collected to preserve the milk. In India we call this as malai.
Any which way this Ashta cream is truly decadent, addictive specially when served with desserts or on its own with honey and chopped nuts.
Similar Recipes
There are many ways of preparing this traditional cream at home. Authentic recipe is made by simmering milk for long hours and collecting the settled cream on top.
Modern recipes follow quick and easy version. Some recipes use a mix of ricotta cheese, mascarpone cheese and cream. Some recipe uses cornstarch or flour to thicken. But I wanted to make a recipe, that is easy to make and also rich and decadent. Hence this recipe is born.
You start by heating milk and cream until simmering stage. Thicken it slightly with cornstarch mixture. Then pour this into a baking dish and bake low and slow until you see a thick malai like mixture on top. Refrigerate for few hours.
Scrape the clotted cream and serve with honey and nuts. You can enjoy this cream with cakes like basbousa.
The main important thing to note is, you shouldn’t add too much sugar in this. Just a little sugar goes a long way. I flavoured my Ashta with vanilla, you can add orange blossom water or rose water.
If you are making a big batch, you might need to use a larger baking tray. Also you need to bake it longer. This traditional cream is one of the key ingredient in many Middle Eastern desserts like Kunafa, Qatayef and bread kunafa.
It is also used in Halawet el Jibn, Znoud el Sit, Aish el Saraya and Mafroukeh. It is also used to make ice cream. This traditional cream tastes best when served on its own. Totally worth it.
Ingredients
- Milk – Always prefer to use full fat milk for rich taste and get thickened malai.
- Cream – You need cream along with milk to make rich cream. Use full fat cream for making clotted cream.
- Cornstarch – don’t add too much cornstarch, just a little goes a long way.
- Vanilla – a drizzle of vanilla extract adds flavour. You can use orange blossom water, rose water.
- Sugar – since this is used in desserts, you don’t need to use much sugar at all. Just a little is enough.
Step by Step Pictures
1)Preheat oven to 130 degree c (260 degree F). Take cornstarch in a bowl, add in 50 ml of the milk and mix well until combined. Set aside.
2)Take cream, milk, sugar in a sauce pan. Place this on medium high heat and bring it to a simmering stage.
3)You shouldn’t boil it too much, it should come to a simmering stage alone.
4)At this point add in the cornstarch milk which we mixed earlier. Mix this well and cook for couple of minutes on low heat. The mixture will start to thicken.
5)Now take it off the heat and add in vanilla extract or orange blossom water and mix well. You can even use rose water as well.
6)The consistency should be slightly thick, it should coat the back of the spoon.
7)Take a metal baking dish or any glass baking dish. I am using a 9×13 metal baking dish. Now pour the prepared cream onto the baking dish. It will be a thin layer only.
8)Now place this baking dish into the preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. By this time, the cream would have baked low and slow and a thick layer of clotted cream would have formed.
9)Remove the baking tray from oven, let it cool down for at least 15 minutes. Now cover the pan with a plastic wrap and place into the fridge and let it set for 2 hours. You can leave overnight as well.
10)Next day, you can divide the cream into portions using a spatula.
11)scrape the clotted cream from one end.
12)Spoon into a serving dish. Serve with honey.
Expert Tips
Right mix of milk and cream – I used equal part of cream and milk for this recipe. It creates the perfect creamy traditional cream.
Don’t bake on high heat – You have to bake this on low heat to gently thicken the cream mixture. It helps create the clotted texture on top of the simmered cream.
Allow to rest – You have to let the baked cream rest in fridge for few hours before serving to get the perfect texture.
Serving and Storage – Homemade Ashta can be stored in fridge upto 10 days. You can enjoy on its own with a drizzle of honey and nuts. Or use in desserts.
FAQ
Q: Can I skip cream in this recipe?.
You need cream to get a buttery clotted cream texture when baked. So don’t skip it.
Q: Can I cook this without oven?
This particular recipe needs oven to get the proper baked texture.
Q: How to use this Homemade Ashta? What to serve it with?
This traditional cream is one of the key ingredient in many Middle Eastern desserts like Kunafa, Qatayef. It is also used in Halawet el Jibn, Znoud el Sit, Aish el Saraya and Mafroukeh. It is also used to make ice cream.
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Homemade Ashta Recipe (Middle Eastern Clotted Cream, Qishta)
Ashta cream also known as Ishta , Qishta is a Middle Eastern clotted cream. This traditional cream is one of the key ingredient in many Middle Eastern desserts like Kunafa, Qatayef. Making this Ashta cream at home is easy and only needs 5 ingredients, no hours of simmering, no heavy equipments and less than 1 hour.
