Aish El Saraya is a no-bake Middle Eastern bread pudding made with simple ingredients you probably already have at home like bread, cream, milk, and sugar.

The bread soaks up a homemade floral sugar syrup and is then topped with fresh, homemade ashta cream. It's garnished with nuts (usually pistachios), and refrigerated. For a sweet treat that requires almost no effort, it's a beautiful mix of textures that will keep you coming back for more.

Ingredient Notes

White bread: It's very common to use stale bread for this recipe, as it soaks up the syrup very well. But you can use any soft, sliced white toast or sandwich bread. If the bread is thin, you might need to double layer it.
Ashta cream: You can find this at your local Middle Eastern pastry shop, or you can make this easy homemade ashta cream with a few simple ingredients.
Orange Blossom Water and Rosewater: Optional, but this ingredient gives a delicious floral note to the sugar syrup. You can also use vanilla extract or vanilla bean instead.
Fresh lemon juice: Always use fresh lemon juice, and not the fake-tasting store-bought kind. It will help thicken your syrup and intensify the flavor.
Nuts: I like topping my Aish El Saraya with crushed pistachios, but you can also use cashews, almonds, pine nuts, or walnuts.

How To Make Aish El Saraya

Make your sugar syrup by mixing the sugar, water, and lemon juice in a small pot on the stove (medium-high heat). Bring to a boil, stirring until it thickens, then add in your rosewater and orange blossom water. Set aside to cool.

whisking easy homemade ashta ingredients in pot

Either use store-bought ashta cream or homemade ashta cream. If making homemade ashta cream, whisk together the milk, cream, flour, and cornstarch in a small pot NOT on any heat. The flour and cornstarch need to be completely dissolved before the stove is turned on.

Turn the heat on medium-high, whisking constantly until it starts to thicken and boil. Once the ashta thickens, whisk for 30 seconds more. Set the homemade ashta cream aside to cool.

Start layering. Cut the crusts off of your bread slices and place them at the bottom of the 9" x 13" serving dish. Pour the sugar syrup on top to allow the bread to soak it up. Hint: If the bread is really thin and there is extra sugar syrup not soaking into the bread, add a second layer of bread.

Crush the shelled pistachios by pulsing in a food processor. Spread the ashta cream onto the sweetened bread layer and top with crushed pistachios. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight to allow the layers to set.

Substitutions And Variations

Make it gluten-free. Swap the white bread for your favorite gluten-free bread. Go for a soft, loaf-like bread instead of the chewier, seedy kinds.

Change up the flavors. This bread pudding is super easy to customize. Here are some ideas:

Cinnamon Vanilla: Instead of adding rosewater and orange blossom water to your simple syrup, add a cinnamon stick and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. You can also sprinkle some cinnamon and walnuts on top of the Aish El Saraya.
Lemon: Add a teaspoon and a half of lemon zest to your ashta cream for a citrus note.
Strawberry: Add half a cup of puréed strawberries to your ashta cream. Top your Aish El Saraya with fresh strawberry slices and chopped pistachios.

Use rusks. I personally prefer a softer bread base, but if you want a slightly spongier, more cake-like bread base, use bread rusks instead. Or toast your bread in a hot oven until crispy.

Play around with the toppings. You can use any of your favorite chopped nuts to garnish this bread pudding, but don't be afraid to get creative with other toppings like chopped dried fruit, pan-fried bananas, candied cherries, chocolate shavings, or even a caramel drizzle.

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