If there’s one thing Middle Eastern desserts are known for, it’s that all the Middle East love it!

On their own, authentic Middle Eastern desserts aren’t overly sweet. Middle Eastern desserts often rely on a rich honey syrup to sweeten them and lots of crunch and texture.

An essential ingredient of their delectable desserts and Arabic cuisine, this honey syrup is a necessary addition to their delicious sweet treat and a primary contributor to their secret flavor.

However, when they’re combined with rich dessert ingredients, like dates or nuts or even ice cream, they become so much more than delicious, becoming a part of the dessert itself and a delightful way to top off any meal or day.

Sadly, in Egypt, we are only familiar with Egyptian desserts rather than Arabic sweets.

Here, we’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite underrated Middle Eastern desserts that we think ae better than Egyptian Desserts, which you might like to try:

Persian Pashmak

Persian Pashmak is the Middle Eastern version of cotton candy – widely known as Persian Cotton Candy – is made of three basic ingredients; sugar, butter, and flour.

Although it’s not as sweet as cotton candy, the sweet taste of this dessert is vibrant, and it gives a unique flavor, something that’s not usually found in sweets. 

Pashmak originated in the Iranian city of Yazd, known for its various traditional Persian sweets such as Baghlava, Qottab, and Gaz during the Safavid Empire.

Halawet el Jibn

Halawet el Jibn is a heavenly Levantine dessert made from sweet cheese and semolina rolls topped with rosewater syrup, or sometimes replaced with orange blossom syrup.

Halawet el Jibn comes from Hama, Syria. Like many other Middle Eastern and Levantine desserts, it has long been a favorite throughout the region, even reaching the Mediterranean.

Halawet el Jibn is an easy dessert to make, unlike other Arab desserts. It’s a reasonably straightforward process, though it might need a bit of time.

Bastani

Bastani is an Iranian ice cream made from milk, eggs, sugar, rose water, saffron, vanilla, and pistachios. It is widely known as Persian ice cream.

Bastani usually contains frozen curdled cream flakes. Sometimes, salep is included as an ingredient.

The history of Bastani may begin around 500 BC. Persia Achaemenid Empire. Various syrups are poured on the snow to produce a summer treat called sharbat.

Usually, ice is mixed with saffron, grape juice, fruit, and other flavors.

Fun fact, Alexander the Great, who had fought with the Persians for ten years, enjoyed a fruit ice cream with honey and snow ice.

Lebanese Nights Dessert (Layali Lubnan)

If you are looking for delicious and easy-to-make Lebanese desserts to try, look no further. This Lebanese Nights Dessert (Layali Lubnan) is a very famous Lebanese dessert.

Lebanese Nights Dessert is made from semolina pudding with Ashta (heavy cream), whipped cream, and pistachios.

This dessert is famous for its fragrance of roses and orange blossoms.

These are the key ingredients of the syrup used to make this dessert. Although this dessert is Lebanese, it is also made in different ways throughout the Middle East.

This dessert is one of the simplest desserts you can make. It is the most suitable homemade dessert because most of the ingredients are already in the pantry of all Lebanese households.

Makroudh

Makroudh is a traditional dessert of Morocco and Malta. It is filled with dates and walnut or almond paste and shaped like a diamond.

The dough is made by mixing semolina and flour, which gives the dough a unique texture and flavor.

Makroudh can be fried or baked in oil. It is popular in Morroco, where there are many types of Makroudh. Some of which are cakes that do not have much in common with traditional Makroudh except for the shape. In Algeria, they can be filled with almond paste.

Debla

Deblas are popular Tunisian pastries made from wide, thin dough strips coated with honey syrup. They are light and crisp.

Deblas usually appear on the Tunisian table during dessert time and are also served with a cup of mint tea.

The Tunisian pastries are made from simple ingredients such as flour, eggs, and water.

Its crunchy dough is fried first, then coated with orange blossom water syrup and sprinkled with sesame seeds or crushed walnuts.

And there you have it; some amazing Middle Eastern Desserts that we think are better, or at least as good as, Egyptian desserts.

Did we miss anything on the list? Let us know.

Did you try anything from the list? Let us know as well.