Name: Crème d’amardine
Yield: Serves 6 to 8
Cuisine: Lebanese
Ingredients: 1 cup heavy cream beaten with 2 tablespoons sugar; 3 cups (1 pound) dried apricots; fresh lemon juice to taste; 2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in ¼ cup water; 2 tablespoons pistachio nuts, toasted and chopped; 4 cups water; ½ cup sugar, or to taste; 1 tablespoon orange-flower water

Preparation info

Serves
6 to 8

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Saffron Shores

By Joyce Goldstein

Published 2002

About

This Lebanese pudding was traditionally prepared with sheets of dried apricot (amardine, or apricot leather), but it can also be made with dried apricots, which are more consistent in quality. Dried apricots may be sweet or quite tart, so you will have to adjust the sugar to suit your taste.

Ingredients

3 cups (1 pound) dried apricots
4 cups water

Method

Soak the apricots in the water overnight. In a large saucepan, cook the apricots and water until very soft, about 30 minutes, adding more water if needed. In a blender or food processor, puree the mixture. Return the puree to the pan and bring to a simmer. Stir in the sugar and cornstarch mixture. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the orange-flower water a