Bakalawa bil jibna

Ingredients

Pastry

• 500 gfilo pastry
• 250 gbutter, melted

Cheese cream filling

• 700 mlwhole milk
• 300 mldouble cream
• 60 gcornflour
• 60 gsugar
• 300 gfresh mild cheese, akkawi or mozzarella
• 1 tablespoonrosewater
• 1 tablespoonorange blossom water

Syrup

• 500 gsugar
• 300 mlwater
• 1 tablespoonlemon juice
• 2 tablespoonsrosewater

To finish

• ground pistachios
• or ground almonds

Directions

1. Make the syrup first so it has time to chill. Making the syrup takes ten minutes. Put the sugar and water in a heavy pan. Add the lemon juice to the pan. The acid stops the syrup crystallising later.
2. Stir over a low heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring it to a boil and simmer it for ten minutes. It should thicken slightly and coat a spoon. Take it off the heat and stir in the rosewater. Let it cool completely and then refrigerate it. It is usually sold salted and must be desalted.
3. Cut it into cubes and soak it in cold water. Change the water every two hours. Whisk the cornflour with a little of the cold milk. Work it into a completely smooth slurry.
4. Put the rest of the milk, the cream and sugar in a pan. Heat it until it is steaming but not boiling. Pour a ladleful into the cornflour slurry and whisk it in. Cooking it needs constant whisking. Set the pan over a medium heat. Whisk continuously as it heats through. Keep whisking hard right through that thickening. Let it bubble gently for two full minutes.
5. Take the pan right off the heat. Grate or chop the drained cheese finely. Stir it into the hot cream a handful at a time. Stir until it is smooth and stretchy. Return it briefly to a very low heat if needed. Do not let it boil, which makes it stringy.
6. Stir in the rosewater and orange blossom water. The filling should be very thick indeed. Let it cool completely before assembling. Handling the filo needs speed and care. Keep the stack under a damp cloth at all times. Filo dries out and cracks within minutes in open air. Work with one sheet at a time. Brush a deep baking tray with melted butter. Lay in a sheet of filo and brush it with butter.
7. Repeat until you have used about half the pastry. Brush every single sheet, without skipping any. Spread the cold cheese cream evenly over that base. Take it right to the edges of the tray.
8. Brush each sheet with butter as before. Press the top layers down gently. Cut right through to the bottom with a sharp knife. Cut it into diamonds or squares. Pour any remaining butter over the surface. Baking it takes about forty-five minutes. Heat the oven up to 180C for it.
9. Bake it until the top is deep golden brown. The pastry should be crisp and well coloured. Take the tray out of the oven. Pour the cold syrup evenly over the hot pastry at once.
10. Pour it slowly across the whole surface. Let it stand for at least four hours. Do not cover it while it is still warm. Scatter ground pistachios over the top. Lift the pieces out along the cut lines. Serve it with tea or with Arabic coffee. It keeps three days at room temperature.

Technique

• Cheese-filled sweet pastries appear across the Levant and North Africa, and knafeh is the best known of them.
• Akkawi is the fresh cheese most often used, and it is sold salted and must be soaked before use in sweets.

Substitutions

• Fresh mozzarella replaces akkawi directly and needs no desalting.
• Ricotta can be used for a softer, less stretchy filling.

Variations

• Ordinary baklava replaces the cheese cream with chopped nuts.
• Knafeh uses shredded pastry rather than filo around a similar cheese filling.
• Some households add a layer of nuts alongside the cheese.

History

A Libyan variation on baklava in which the nut filling is replaced by a milk and cheese cream.

Frequently asked questions

What is Bakalawa bil jibna?

Bakalawa bil jibna is a dessert from Libya: filo baklava filled with sweet cheese cream and rose water. A Libyan variation on baklava in which the nut filling is replaced by a milk and cheese cream.

How long does Bakalawa bil jibna take to make?

Bakalawa bil jibna takes 45 minutes of preparation and 45 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes one tray, 24 pieces. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Bakalawa bil jibna?

Yes, within limits. Fresh mozzarella replaces akkawi directly and needs no desalting. Ricotta can be used for a softer, less stretchy filling.

What is the most important thing to get right in Bakalawa bil jibna?

Stir over a low heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring it to a boil and simmer it for ten minutes. It should thicken slightly and coat a spoon. Take it off the heat and stir in the rosewater. Let it cool completely and then refrigerate it. It is usually sold salted and must be desalted.