Make the Simple Syrup First (if not sweetening your Ashta)
Heat the sugar and water in a small saucepan on medium heat and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Take it off the heat, leave to cool for 10 minutes, then stir in your flower water. Leave to cool on the kitchen counter until needed.Your syrup will thicken as it cools. If you refrigerate it, it will be very thick. You can always dlute it with water to your preference.
Qatayef Batter
Place all the ingredients together into a medium sized bowl and whisk together to mix well.I use a metal whisk and just whisk it for about 30 - 60 seconds. Any tiny lumps will soften and fall apart during resting time.You can also use a blender for this.Leave to rest, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
Cooking Qatayef Pancakes
Heat your non stick pancake griddle on medium heat. When hot, pour a little of the qatayef batter to form a small circle about 8cm (3") in diameter.Because we only want a small pancake, don't pour from a great height, as you have better control when you pour closer to the pan.
Cook until the batter doesn't have any signs of "wetness". You'll see the batter changing colour as it cooks. See the image.
We only cook one side of the pancake. So when it's done, lift with a spatula and transfer to a plate.Repeat the process and cook all the batter up, stacking the pancakes on top of each other. Cover the cooked pancakes with a tea towel to stop from drying out.
Filling Qatayef
Carefully lift a pancake off the stack. They are ever so sligtly sticking to each other, so be gentle. Fill the middle of the pancake with a heaped teaspoon of ashta (or mascarpone, if that's what you're using).Be careful not to overfill, and stay away from the edges.
Starting at one end of the pancake, pinch the 2 edges together to stick, all the way up to ⅔ of the pancake. Leave one end open as you see in the images.
Sprinkle with some chopped pistachios and rose petals and arrange on your serving platter.Repeat with all the other pancakes.Drizzle with the syrup if your ashta wasn't sweetened.