A deliciously light 4 ingredient vegan dessert for any occasion
I was young when my mother first made Halawet Smeed. Ramadan had come in the summer and it was so hot in Kuwait. I was napping because fasting in the heat was too tiring. My mother, as usual, was in the kitchen preparing the Iftar meal for when we would break out fast that night. Suddenly, a pleasant aroma filled the bedroom. I woke up and ran quickly to the kitchen to see what my mother was making. She said it was Halawet Smeed. I asked her if I could eat it immediately when I broke my fast or if I would have to wait. She replied that I could eat it warm or cold. I later discovered I absolutely loved it cold! It was like ice cream for me. From that day forward, it became a tradition to me to ask my mother to make me Halwet Smeed every Ramadan. Halwet Smeed is one of my favorite desserts in Ramadan. I was excited to begin making it for my family after I got married!
Delicious close-ups of this sweet cake that only needs 4 simple ingredients!
- 1 cup semolina
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 ½ cups water
- 2 tbsp corn oil
- Almonds [for garnish]
- Pour the sugar and water in a pot to make the syrup
- Boil on low
- In another pot, heat up the corn oil on high
- Add the semolina to toast until brown
- Turn down the heat under the semolina on low
- Turn off the heat under the syrup mixture
- Pour the syrup mixture over the semolina keeping the heat on low so that it doesn’t pop and burn
- Mix well
- Once it forms, turn off the heat
- Pour into serving plate
- Toast almonds to use as garnish
- Serve at room temperature or cold*
- *I prefer to serve it cold after refrigeration so that it tastes like ice cream.
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