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Labneh halawet el jibn, blood orange, almond and olive oil

by Ayesha Kalaji
  1. Labneh halawet el jibn, blood orange, almond and olive oil
  2. Labneh halawet el jibn, blood orange, almond and olive oil
  3. Labneh halawet el jibn, blood orange, almond and olive oil
Item 1 of 3
  • Dessert
  • medium
  • 6
  • 2 hours 40 minutes plus 6 hours chilling and freezing
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Halawet el jibn is a Syrian dessert made of a sweetened semolina and cheese dough rolled and filled with ‘ashta’ – a clotted cream filling. Ayesha Kalaji uses a labneh mousse in place of the ashta at her restaurant Queen of Cups and serves this with an intense blood orange sorbet, a blood orange ‘attar’ sugar syrup and a blood orange infused olive oil gel. A honey tuile and almond and sumac crumble add pleasing textural elements. The dish is finished with freshly segmented blood orange and micro lemon balm, meaning this dessert hits all the markers for an excellent end to a meal – chewy, soft, creamy, cold, crunchy, crispy and fresh.

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Ayesha says: “I put this recipe on the menu at Queen of Cups because it is my dad’s favourite dessert. I have changed the filling from the traditional ashta to a labneh mousse as I find it lighter and I prefer the lactic tang it gives.”

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

BLOOD ORANGE SORBET

  • 1 blood orange, zested
  • 1 tsp sumac
  • 25g of caster sugar
  • 1g of sorbet stabiliser
  • 20g of liquid glucose
  • 120g of water
  • 185g of blood orange juice, (about 3 oranges) strained, plus more as needed, peel reserved

OLIVE OIL GEL

  • 70g of extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 sprig of thyme
  • 1/2 gelatine leaf, gold grade
  • 25g of water
  • 30g of isomalt sugar
  • 22g of caster sugar
  • 8g of glucose syrup

BLOOD ORANGE ATTAR

  • 130g of caster sugar
  • 65ml of water
  • 1 sprig of thyme, small

LABNEH MOUSSE

  • 250g of double cream
  • 20g of icing sugar, or more or less depending on taste
  • 1/4 tsp orange blossom water
  • 250g of labneh

HALAWET EL JIBN DOUGH

HONEY TUILE

ALMOND & SUMAC CRUMBLE

TO SERVE

SAVE RECIPE

Equipment

  • Temperature probe
  • Ice cream maker
  • Flower tuile mould

Method

1
For the blood orange sorbet, put the zest and sumac in a bowl with the sugar and stabiliser. Rub together to combine
  • 1 blood orange, zested
  • 1 tsp sumac
  • 25g of caster sugar
  • 1g of stabiliser
2

Add the mixture to a small pan with the liquid glucose and water. Heat until the sugar is dissolved and the temperature reaches 85°C

  • 20g of liquid glucose
  • 120g of water
3
Cool the sorbet base until the temperature is below 25°C, then mix in the blood orange juice (reserving the peel). Adjust the acidity if needed with more juice, then cool completely, and chill for 4-6 hours. Churn it in an ice cream machine, then freeze
  • 185g of blood orange juice, (about 3 oranges) strained, plus more as needed, peel reserved
4

For the olive oil gel, first infuse some extra virgin olive oil. Place some of the leftover peel from the blood oranges in a pan (saving ½ an orange’s worth for the attar) with the extra virgin olive oil and a sprig of thyme. Bring the temperature up to 60°C (or simply warm through). Allow to cool and infuse, then strain through a sieve, discarding the solids. Weigh out 55g and set aside

  • 70g of extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 sprig of thyme
5
Next, make a jelly. Soak the gelatine in cold water. Bring the water, isomalt, sugar and glucose syrup to the boil. Remove from the heat and whisk in the gelatine
  • 1/2 gelatine leaf, gold grade
  • 25g of water
  • 30g of isomalt sugar
  • 22g of caster sugar
  • 8g of glucose syrup
6

Use a handheld blender to slowly emulsify in the infused olive oil. Season lightly with salt, cool completely, then transfer to the fridge until fully set

7
For the blood orange attar, combine all the ingredients in a small pan with the reserved peel from ½ a blood orange. Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and allow to cool and infuse
  • 130g of caster sugar
  • 65ml of water
  • 1 sprig of thyme, small
8
For the labneh mousse, place the double cream, icing sugar and orange blossom water in a large bowl and lightly whip to soft peaks. Lightly fold through the labneh using a spatula – avoid overworking it as it can split. Transfer to a piping bag and chill in the fridge
  • 250g of double cream
  • 20g of icing sugar, or more or less depending on taste
  • 1/4 tsp orange blossom water
  • 250g of labneh
9
For the halewet el jibn dough, combine the water, semolina and sugar in a saucepan over a medium heat. Cook until it is thick and the semolina has fully cooked out, stirring constantly (it may catch a little)
  • 95g of water
  • 25g of fine semolina
  • 10g of caster sugar
10
Add the mozzarella and fold through until the dough becomes elastic and stretchy
11
Strain the attar, discarding the aromats. Lay a sheet of cling film on a surface and brush it lightly with syrup (set aside the rest for portioning later). On the cling film, roll the warm dough into a rectangle, about the thickness of a pound coin and about 10cm by 20cm in size
12
Pipe a line of the cream the width of a £2 coin along one of the long edges, then use the cling film to roll it into a tube – make sure it is not too tight. Trim the excess dough as you roll it up. Fully chill it in the fridge
13
For the honey tuile, mix together the flour, egg white, icing sugar and honey until smooth. Gradually add the butter to combine. Set aside to rest for 30 minutes
14
Once the tuile mixture has rested, preheat the oven to 175°C. Spread the mixture into moulds (you may need to work in batches depending on how many moulds you have)
15
Bake the tuiles for 3 minutes, then rotate the mould and bake for 1 final minute. Remove the tuiles from the mould when they’re still hot and set aside to cool
16
For the almond and sumac crumble, preheat the oven to 175°C. Place the butter and sugar in a food processor and blitz together until combined. Add the flour, almonds and sumac and pulse until it forms crumbs. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, until golden, turning occasionally. Set aside to cool
17
Once the olive oil jelly is set, cut or break into pieces and blitz in a blender into a pipable gel. Transfer to a piping bag
18
To portion the halewet el jibn, unroll it from the cling film and cut into 5cm lengths. Spoon over some more syrup
19
To serve, pipe some olive oil gel onto the plate. Add the crumble and place the halawet el jibn on top. Arrange the blood orange segments around the edge. Place the tuile on top, then add a rocher of sorbet. Finish with toasted flaked almonds, micro lemon balm and a sprinkle of sumac
First published in 2026
Ayesha Kalaji

Under the shadow of Glastonbury Tor, Ayesha Khalaji’s gastropub Queen of Cups serves Middle Eastern-inspired dishes interpreted through her own unique lens – resulting in vibrant, creative cooking that’s jam-packed with in-your-face flavour.

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