Chocolate-Buttermilk Squares cake, 

with Muhalabiya Vanilla Ice Cream

The above is Chocolate-Buttermilk Squares cake, with Muhalabiya Vanilla Ice Cream sprinkled with cinnamon. The cake recipe is from Lauren Chattman's Mom's Big Book of Baking, while the muhalabiya is from Habeeb Salloum's Classic Vegetarian Cooking from the Middle East and North Africa. After the cake cooled, I covered it and kept it in the fridge, where it lasted for a couple of weeks.

Although I often just try to make the muhalabiya thick, and then put it in the freezer when cool, this time, I put it in an ice-cream maker before the freezer. The cake recipe uses buttermilk and baking soda, rather than eggs; I used leftover whey (liquid) from making paneer, for the buttermilk. I also used oil, rather than butter, and regular unsweetened cocoa powder, rather than Dutch-process as in the recipe.

Muhallabiyah (vanilla pudding)

Another dish, with chocolate chips.

Muhallabiyah, Vanilla Pudding (with some chocolate chips).

Based on recipe in Habeeb Salloum's Classic Vegetarian Cooking from the Middle East & North Africa. This is one of the few recipes I found for any kind of a vanilla pudding that didn't contain eggs. After it's cooled in the fridge a bit, I like to put most of it in the freezer, for a light "ice cream."