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–+ servings
2 squares of warbat pastries on a rectangular white plate garnished with crushed pistachios and rose petals, small spoon in corner with pistachios, small white bowl in corner with pistachios, tea cup and saucers in the top corner, sugar syrup in a small pitcher on a bright pink tiled background
5 from 5 ratings

Warbat Bil Ashta (Cream Filled Phyllo Pastry)

Yield: 12 pieces
Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Total: 55 minutes
Author: Amina Al-Saigh
Warbat is Middle Eastern dessert made of crispy, buttery phyllo dough stuffed with a creamy ashta filling, all doused in sugar syrup. With so many layers of flavour its a beautifully indulgent dessert!
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Ingredients
 

For the Simple Syrup

  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 squeeze lemon
  • 1 tablespoon rosewater

For the Ashta Filling (see notes)

  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 2 cups 35% whipping cream
  • 3/4 cup cornstarch, (or 6 tablespoons if halving the recipe)
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon rosewater

For the Clarified Butter

  • 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter

Other Ingredients

  • 18 sheets phyllo, 450 grams
  • 2 tablespoons crushed pistachios (garnish)

Instructions
 

For the Simple Syrup

  • Silver saucepan with water and sugar on a light green tea towel on a stone background
    In a pot, add the sugar, water and squeeze of lemon
  • Mix and place on medium heat. Bring to a boil, then simmer on medium low heat for 10 minutes. Sugar should dissolve and you should end up with a clear sugar syrup. Remove from heat and allow it to cool at room temperature. If using rose water, add it in at this point.

For the Ashta Filling

  • Silver saucepan with cream mixture on a light green tea towel with a whisk in it on a stone tiled background
    In a pot, add the whole milk, cream, sugar and corn starch. While everything is still cold, whisk well to incorporate the corn starch until dissolved
  • silver saucepan with thickened ashta and a whisk on a light green tea towel on a stone tiled background
    Place the pot on the stove on medium high heat and continuously whisk for about 10 minutes until thickened. Don't stop mixing as the cream may burn at the bottom of the pot
  • Ashta with plastic wrap on the surface in a glass bowl on a light stone tiled background
    Once thickened, remove from heat, add the rosewater, mix and place in a dish covered with plastic wrap. Make sure the plastic wrap is in contact with the surface of the ashta to avoid creating a film. Place in the fridge to cool for 1 hour

For the Clarified Butter

  • small gold saucepan with stick of butter and melted butter with a spoon sticking out on a light stone tiled background
    Place the butter in a pot over medium-low heat to melt or melt in the microwave
  • Pour it into a measuring cup and allow it to sit for 5-10 minutes
  • melted butter in a beige coloured bowl on a light stone tiled background
    Scoop out the solids that form on the top, and strain out the white that collects at the bottom. You can do this by simply adding the butter to another bowl, and ensuring you don't pour in any of the white solids that collect at the bottom.
  • The clarified butter is ready to use!

Assembling the Warbat

  • Pre heat oven to 400F
  • phyllo sheet on a light stone tiled background with a knife and ruler, cut into 12 squares and separated from each other
    Unroll the phyllo sheets and using a ruler, cut them into 4x4 inch squares. This should result in 12 pieces (see notes)
  • pieces of square cut phyllo with ashta on the middle of them with 4 folded over into triangles on a light stone tiled background
    Scoop 1.5-2 tablespoons of the cooled ashta and place in the middle of the square, on a diagonal. Fold the phyllo over on the diagonal to form a triangle
  • 3 squares made up of 4 triangular warbat on a baking sheet brushed with butter and a silicone brush on a light stone tiled background
    Place the triangles on a sheet pan and spoon over clarified butter until they are fully saturated and the butter reaches all the layers
  • 3 squares made up of 4 triangular warbat on a baking sheet that have been baked with a small pitcher of sugar syrup
    Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. If needed bake for an additional minute or two to get that golden brown colour
  • Remove and pour the cooled simple syrup immediately
  • 3 squares made up of 4 triangular warbat on a baking sheet that have been baked with crushed pistachios
    Garnish with crushed pistachios if desired
  • Serve warm or refrigerate and serve cold (follow blog post storage directions)

Notes

  • If you only want 12 pieces, using all the phyllo layers (16-20 depending on the package). However, if you want to make more pieces, split the layers in half and use 8 layers for each piece, forming 24 total pieces. The more layers the crunchier the warbat, but both methods will work well
  • If you are using all phyllo sheets and making 12 pieces, you can halve the ashta recipe. If using 8 phyllo sheets and making 24 pieces, make the full batch of ashta.
  • Make sure the simple syrup is completely cooled before pouring it on top of the baked warbat, to ensure they don't become soggy
  • Serve warm, at room temperature or cold
  • Store in the fridge very loosely covered with plastic wrap for 2-3 days
 
Serving: 1piece, Calories: 639kcal, Carbohydrates: 67g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 40g, Saturated Fat: 25g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 11g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 111mg, Sodium: 169mg, Potassium: 128mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 45g, Vitamin A: 1358IU, Vitamin C: 0.3mg, Calcium: 87mg, Iron: 1mg
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