What are popular sweets and desserts in the holy land?

Asked 3 years ago

Hi, I'm looking for recipes to replicate sweets or desserts from Israel for Christmas lunch. What would you say is typically Israeli, and which do you like?

Holy land Sweets Dessert Israeli food culture

Alejandro Petty

Thursday, September 23, 2021

The most authentic Israeli traditional recipes are for knafeh (shredded filo pastry, soft cheese, and sweet syrup); mutabak (stuffed, fried pastry); muhallebi (milk pudding), and halva crack pie. Every Holy Land bakery sells delicious rugalach, a rolled pastry filled with chocolate. The most typical homemade Israeli sweet treat is chocolate babka. 

Zuzana Vaľovská

Monday, December 27, 2021

My favorite ones are these with dates or figs. Both these fruits grow in Israel and I think thanks to the soil, water, sun and everything they have a different, special taste. Hamantashen are often filled with figs and figs jam is my favorite. And if you want something typically Israeli, dates are a must! Date rolls, stuffed dates ... dates are amazing in anything. 

Petal Mashraki

Thursday, February 17, 2022

Israelis love pastries and baked goods, such as kunafa (shredded filo pastry, layered with soft cheese and drenched in syrup) and rugalach (pastry rolled with a chocolate filling). A classic local dessert would be Muhallebi milk pudding. My favorite is Babka cake, a sweet braided bread filled with chocolate or poppy seeds.