One of the many street foods you could encounter while roaming Lebanese cities is an all-time favorite special fruit cocktail that is garnished with nuts, ashta cream and honey. There are many variations of the cocktail, and what we’re featuring in this post is what’s referred to as “cocktail shikaf” which translates to “fruit chunks cocktail”.
Fruit cocktails exist in virtually every culture on earth. What I believe distinguishes this one though and gives it a Lebanese or Middle-Eastern identity is the Ashta, which is clotted cream with rose water. If made with original ingredients, it has an amazing rich cream flavor with subtle rose water aroma.
To get the best results, use only fresh fruits and make the Ashta cream from scratch. You could substitute Ashta with whipped cream but it won’t be as good.
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Prep time: 20 mins
Total time: 20 mins
Learn how to make the all-famous Lebanese cocktail shikaf with ashta clotted cream right at home. This is an amazingly refreshing and nutritious summer treat.
Ingredients
5 bananas
5 peaches
5 kiwis
3 apples
2 large mangoes
½ pineapple
3 lbs Strawberries
10 tbsp Ashta cream
½ cup of raw walnuts
½ cup of crushed raw pistachios
Honey
Instructions
- Cut the mangoes, apples, pineapple, kiwis, bananas, peaches and 1 lb of strawberries into 1-inch chunks.
- Add 2 lbs of strawberries to a blender and blend until they turn into a juice.
- Fill each serving cup with fruit chunks, pour the blended strawberries on top until it's filled, add 2 table spoons of Ashta cream, garnish with walnuts, pistachios and honey and serve cold.