What cheese-filled semolina pastry is soaked in syrup and often served with ashta?

The cheese-filled semolina pastry soaked in syrup and often served with ashta is halawet el jibn. Its name means “sweetness of cheese,” describing the dessert’s signature dough, made by combining semolina with melted, mildly salty cheese such as Akkawi or Majdoola. The mixture is sweetened and often perfumed with rose water or orange blossom water.

The dough is rolled thin, cut into pieces, and filled with qishta, also called ashta, a thick clotted cream. Sugar syrup known as qatir or ʾatr is poured over the rolls, and chopped pistachios are commonly scattered on top. Some versions are served with rose-petal jam or Arabic ice cream.

Halawet el jibn is strongly associated with Levantine cuisine, especially Syria and Lebanon. Its exact origin is disputed between the Syrian cities of Hama and Homs, and the dessert is also popular in Tripoli, Lebanon. It should not be confused with knafeh, which generally uses shredded or fine pastry surrounding cheese, or basbousa, a syrup-soaked semolina cake without the characteristic cheese dough.