Mahalabiya with amardeen (Middle Eastern milk dessert with dried apricot sauce)

Mahalabiya / malabi / muhalabiyah etc is probably one of my favourite desserts, easy to make and always delicious. I usually make a rose water syrup to go with it, but today I thought I'd try something more refreshing. I'd bought some amardeen (also known as kamardeen, qamardeen, kamar el din, gamar el deen etc etc depending on the transliteration) a fruit leather made of apricot that is popular in the Middle East. It's used in desserts and sweets (particularly Lebanese sweets), and when soaked and pureed it's turned into a refreshing drink, traditionally used to break the fast at Ramadan. If you don't have amardeen, then dried apricots will work almost as well. This recipe makes enough for 4 small portions (or two mahoosive ones!)

Ingredients
For the mahalabiya:
500ml milk
200g sugar
5 tablespoons cornflour
2 tablespoons rose water

For the sauce:
50g amardeen (or a couple of handfuls of dried apricots
Hot water
Orange blossom water (or rose water if you prefer)

1. Rip the amardeen into small pieces, put in a container and pour over enough boiling water just to cover. Leave for around 30 minutes or until softened and blend. Stir in the orange blossom water and add extra hot water until it has a sauce-like consistency (how runny depends on your personal taste). Leave to cool
2. Add the milk and sugar to a pan and bring to the boil
3. While the milk is heating, mix hot water into the cornflour until you have a smooth paste
4. Once the milk boils pour some into the cornflour mixture and whisk until smooth, then quickly pour this back into the pan with the remainder of the milk
5. Turn the heat down and whisk for around 5 minutes until it has the consistency of custard
6. Take off the heat and stir in the rose water. Pour into serving dishes and cool before refrigerating for a few hours
7. To serve, top with the apricot sauce and a sprinkling of flaked almonds