Kunafa is a well-known Arabic dessert. It is a syrup soaked cheese pastry. Some say it dates back to the Ottoman Empire, others say its origin is from Turkey, Palestine, Egypt, or Greece ( see the editor’s note below ). Well, whatever it’s true origin, it is a favorite of many regions. Most languages in the Mediterranean and Middle East have a name for this dessert whether that be Kanafeh, Kanafe, Knafeh, Knafe, Kunafa, or Kunafah. Traditionally made from extra thin noodles of semolina flour, the Katafi we use in the recipe is a shredded phyllo dough that crisps up well and drinks in the heavy syrup much like a baklava.
Kunafa is basically the same thing as Knafeh, which is a Lebanese Cheesecake. Both have a ricotta and katafi base with nuts and spices. Both use floral water for flavoring. Some persons do not like the taste of floral things like rose and lavender. If this is the case, please, by all means, leave them out. They are subtle and lovely, but you know what you like so go with it.
Kunafa is traditionally served all year round, legend has it that it was created in Egypt hundreds of years ago to keep the people full while fasting during the religious observance. Again, do we know the true origin? No, those may be fighting words for some, but there we are.Ingredients :
- Kunafa dough – 300 gram
- Unsalted butter – 100 gram (melted)
- Thick cream – 250 ml
- Grated mozzarella cheese – 200 gram
- Sugar Syrup – (recipe given below)
- Pistachios – 3 tbsp (powdered)
Method :
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius. Grease a round cake tin with little butter and keep it ready.
2. Shred the Kunafa dough with your hands. Add melted butter to this and combine evenly. Move half this to the greased cake tin and spread all over including the sides of the cake tin and press lightly with your hands.
3. Add half of the thick cream over this and spread all over. Add the mozzarella cheese over it and again top it with the remaining thick cream.
4. Cover it with the remaining Kunafa dough and again press lightly to set it evenly. Bake it in the preheated oven for about 40 – 45 minutes, or till the top portion turns golden colour. Remove from the oven.
5. Pour the syrup all over the baked Kunafa (reserve ¼ cup to pour after inverting the Kunafa to a plate) and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Invert it to a plate and pour the remaining syrup over it. Top it with powdered pistachios. Serve hot, warm or cooled.
For the sugar syrup
Ingredients :
- Water - 1 ½ cup
- Sugar - 2 ½ cup
- Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp
- Rose water - 2 tsp
- Orange blossom water – 1 tsp
Method :
In a sauce pan, combine together water sugar and lemon juice and bring to boil. Reduce the flame and heat it for another 6 – 8 minutes. Remove from the flame and add rose water and orange blossom water. Leave it to cool to room temperature. Pour this over the baked Kunafa.
Note : You can add orange food colour if you need a nice colour for the Kunafa (I didn't add any food colour). If you want to use food color, mix it with melted butter and pour it to the shredded Kunafa. If you cannot find, thick cream, you can use either nestle cream or fresh cream (make sure the fresh cream is not too thin in texture). You can keep this for about 4 – 5 days in the refrigerator. Make sure you keep it covered. If you want to have it warm, heat the cooled Kunafa for about 30 seconds in microwave before serving.