This cheesecake has no refined sugar and obviously no diary products. Also the curst is gluten free which is great from those who are on a gluten free diet. I’m not. But having a gluten free dessert is not bad at all.

If I haven’t tempted you enough yet. Let me say that this cake is easy to make and almost fool proof. So what are you waiting for? Give it a go and you won’t regret it.

A detailed video recipe in English is here:

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 7 pitted dates
• 2 tbs coconut oil
• dash of salt

For the filling:

• 2 1/2 cup soaked raw cashews
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 2 tbs lemon juice
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tbs vanilla essence
• 1 cup frozen blueberries

Tips:

• Make sure all the nuts you are using are not salted or toasted
• The cashews need to be soaked for at least 4 hours and preferably overnight to make sure you’ll get the creamy texture at the end.
• You can adjust how many dates you are using depending on the variety and size of them. I used medium sized ones.
• You can adjust how much maple syrup you want to add depending on how sweet you like it.
• You can use fresh berries if you want. But be mindful of its water content so as not to ruin the thickness of your filling.
• You can use other kind of berries if you wish to.
• The cheesecake should be placed in the freezer for at least 4 hours and preferably overnight so that it will firm nicely.
• You need to take the cheesecake out and leave it for half an hour at room temperature before serving it.
• You can serve the cake frozen, half frozen or even thawed.
• You can put the remaining cake back in the freezer or in the fridge if you don’t want a frozen texture.

Hilbeh is made of fenugreek seeds, semolina and olive oil. It is quite healthy if it stopped here. But we drench it with sugar syrup. But that is why it is considered sweet.

I hope that you’ll give it a try.

To watch the recipe please watch this video:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup fenugreek seeds
• 3, 1/2 cups coarse semolina
• 1/2 cup A/P flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp instant dried yeast
• ~ 1/2 cup lukewarm water

for the sugar syrup

• 4 cups sugar
• 2 cups water
• squeeze of a lemon.

Tips:

• You need to soak and cook the fenugreek before hand as they are bitter and you need to remove that bitterness from them.
• When making the dough make sure to add the water slowly as the quantity of water is reliant on the type of semolina and how much water there is in the cooked fenugreek.
• The sugar syrup must be completely cold before you add it to the hot hilbeh.
• You must cut the hilbeh before baking it and after resting it. You can cut it into cubes or diamonds which is more traditional.
• After adding the sugar syrup you have to allow hilbeh to completely cooled down before taking it out of the tray and serving it.

To make the star shapes is quite easy as you’ll see in the video. And you can use any kind of seeds to top these loaves. Or you can even leave them out.

To know how to make this bread please watch the video:

Ingredients:

• 500 grams whole wheat flour
• 500 grams A/P flour
• 3 cups lukewarm water
• 4 tsps instant yeast
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar

Tips:

• Water should be around 40 C.
• Make sure that you knead the dough for enough time at least 10-15 mins.
• Leave the dough to prove in a warm place until it double in size. That will take 1 – 2 hours.
• After shaping the loaves leave them to prove again in a warm place for an hour.
• You can use sesame seeds, nigella seeds or any other seeds you like to sprinkle on top of the loaves.
• Bake the loaves in a preheated oven at 220 C for 15-20 mins or until they are golden.

Today I made mine using rosemary and rock salt but you can use the dough and customize the toppings as you like.
To know how to make this focaccia bread please watch the video:

Ingredients:

• 3 cups A/P flour
• 1 and 1/4 cup lukewarm water
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp dried instant yeast
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp table salt
• rock salt
• rosemary

Tips:

• Make sure you knead the dough long enough, nothing less than 10 mins.
• The dough should stay sticky but if you feel it is too sticky you can add a bit of flour.
• Leave the dough to rest in a warm place until it double in size, around 1 hour.
• After shaping the focaccia leave to rest again for another 1 hour.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 200 C for 20 mins or until golden to your liking.

Za’atar is a special thyme and herbs mix that again taste different between each Middle Eastern country. As a Palestinian myself I like the Palestinian version most. But they all taste great and they are healthy too.
So if you want to try and make mana’esh at home please watch the video:

Ingredients:

• 3 cups A/P flour
• 1 1/4 cup lukewarm water
• 2 tsp instant dried yeast
• 3 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• Extra virgin olive oil
• thyme mixture “za’atar” you can buy from your local Middle Eastern grocery store.

Tips:

• The water should be around 40C.
• It is better to start adding one cup of water only and if you feel that the dough is still stiff add another 1/4 cup. The dough should be sticky a bit before kneading.
• Knead the dough well until it becomes elastic and smooth. At least you should knead it for 10 mins.
• Leave the dough to rest in a warm place until it doubles in size around 1 1/5 to 2 hours.
• You can spread the dough to the thickness you like. If you prefer it crispy then spread to about 3 mm thickness if you prefer it softer and chewer then spread it more thick.
  Bake the mana’esh in a pre heated oven at 200 C for 10 mins or until they are golden to your liking.
• Serve hot next to a hot cup of black tea with mint.

And because this bread is made with wholemeal flour it can make you feel fuller for longer. You can have this bread slightly toasted for breakfast drizzled with olive oil which I personally like or with butter if you like.

Seaweed bread is also easy to make and is sure to impress those who like Japanese cuisine or seafood in general.

To know how to make this bread please watch the video:

Ingredients:

• 300 grams wholemeal flour
• 200 grams AP flour
• 10 grams instant dried yeast
• 10 grams salt
• 10 grams shredded yaki nori
• 1, 1/2 cups lukewarm water
• sesame seeds to sprinkle “optional”

Tips:

• Knead the dough well before adding the seaweed.
• Add the seaweed in batches to make sure that they are distributed evenly in the dough.
• Leave the dough to rest for 1 hour. Then we form into a ball again and leave it to rest for 1 hour. Then we will form into a loaf and then leave to rest for yet another 1 hour.
• You can make slits on the loaf with a sharp knife. You can also brush it with water and sprinkle some sesame seeds.
• Bake the bread in a preheated oven at 250C for 30-45 mins or until the bread is golden.

They are easy to make and almost foul proof. You can make a large batch and kept it in an air tight container for up to a month no problem.

To know how to make them please watch the video:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups self raising flour
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp aniseed
• 1 tsp aniseed powder

Tips:

• You can replace the self raising flour with regular flour just add 1 tsp baking powder for each cup of regular flour
• If the dough is still dry after mixing the wet ingredients with the dry ones you can add a little bit of water 1 tbsp at a time until the dough comes together.
• Leave the dough to rest for 15 mins.
• When shaping the cookies you can make them as big or as small as you wish but keep in mind that they will get bigger after baking.
• Bake the cookies in a preheated oven at 200 C for 15 mins.
• Leave the cookies to cool completely on a cooling rack.
• Bake the cookies once again in a preheated oven at 200 C for 5 – 10 mins or until they are golden brown to your own liking.
• Keep the cookies in air tight container.

To know how to make them watch the following video:

Ingredients:

• 500 grams whole wheat flour
• 1 3/4 cups lukewarm water
• 2 tsp instant dried yeast
• 2 tsp salt

Tips:

• Water should be around 40 C.
• Make sure that you knead the dough for enough time at least 10-15 mins.
• Leave the dough to prove in a warm place until it double in size. That will take 1 – 2 hours.
• After shaping the loaves leave them to prove again in a warm place for an hour.
• You can use sesame seeds, nigella seeds or any other seeds you like to sprinkle on top of the loaves.
• Bake the loaves in a preheated oven at 220 C for 15-20 mins or until they are golden.

This bread is consumed during the early meal “sahoor” and can be accompanied with sweet or savory dishes. I know for sure that it is great for dipping with Olive Oil and Thyme “Zeit and Za’atr” and with dates molasses and tahini. You should try them out.

This bread is easy to make and will give you a satisfactory results. If you make it why not share some with your family, neighbors, friends or in need strangers.

To know how to make it please watch this video:

Ingredients:

• 750 grams AP flour
• 2 cups lukewarm water
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tsp dried instant yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar

Tips:

• Water should be around 40 C.
• Make sure that you knead the dough for enough time at least 10-15 mins.
• Leave the dough to prove in a warm place until it double in size. That will take 1 – 2 hours.
• After shaping the loaves leave them to prove again in a warm place for an hour.
• You can use sesame seeds, nigella seeds or any other seeds you like to sprinkle on top of the loaves.
• Bake the loaves in a preheated oven at 200 C for 15-20 mins or until they are golden.

To learn how to do this bread, please watch the following video:

Ingredients:

• 4 cups AP flour
• 2 cups lukewarm water
• 20 grams dried instant yeast
• 1 tbsp salt

Tips:

•  Water should be around 40 C.
• Make sure that you knead the dough for enough time at least 10-15 mins.
• Leave the dough to prove in a warm place until it double in size. That will take 1 – 1.5 hours.
• After shaping the loaves leave them to prove again in a warm place for half an hour.
• You can use sesame seeds, nigella seeds or any other seeds you like to sprinkle on top of the loaves.
• Bake the loaves in a preheated oven at 200 C for 12-15 mins or until they are golden.