Knafeh
Knafeh or kunafa is a flat platter usually made with semolina dough(farek) and a filling of melted gooey cheese or clotted cream. It is baked to golden brown and drizzled with sugar syrup. Conventionally, knafeh is made using Akkawi cheese that needs to be soaked to desalt it, alternatively, mozzarella can be used as a substiute.
Knafeh/kunafah is eaten is for breakfast; local sweet shops in Beirut sell this treat early in the morning sandwiched in a sesame bread. When you walk in the door of any of these shops, you will be drawn by the heavenly aroma and the sweet scent of the orange blossom water. In Lebanon no one bothers to make knafeh at home. Here is a tasty version using bread instead of semolina dough.
- The texture of the knafeh does become dense when refrigerated but can be rewarmed later. Thanks to my sister-in-law, Hoda, for the inspiration. The recipe truly exceeded my expectations. Serve it for breakfast or brunch or even as dessert.
Prepare sugar syrup (Ater)
Tear the bread into small pieces.Add the melted butter and knead with your hands, ending up with a dough of one texture.
Coat a 30cm/12 inches round baking tin with a small piece of butter, and press the bread into the bottom of the tin.
Add the sliced mozzarella (the middle layer) almost covering the bread in the tin.
Crush the mastic gum, if used, with a mortar and pestle.Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add the milk, semolina, heavy cream, sugar, cheese and crushed mastic gum (if used). Whisk constantly over medium heat.Continue whisking until the cheese is melted and the mixture is thickened.
Pour the pudding (you prepared) over the sliced mozzarella in the baking pan.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Position the rack the lower third (just below center) of the oven. Loosely cover the knafeh with foil. Bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until the lower layer of knafeh is deep golden in color. Turn the knafeh onto a flat serving dish, and garnish with some ground pistachios. Cut into slices and drizzle sugar syrup over each serving. Enjoy!
Knafeh.
Description
Ingredients
For the sugar syrup:
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cupwater
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon orange blossom water
For the knafeh:
For the lower layer:
- 500 g. / 1lb. 2oz. slices of white bread crust removed
- 200 g. /7oz. unsalted butter melted
For the middle layer:
- 400 g. /14 oz. mozzarella cheese sliced.
For the pudding layer:
- 1 cup coarse semolina
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 cups milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 200 g. / 7oz. mozzarella cheese diced
- Mastic gum optional
For garnish:
- 1/3 cup of coarsely ground raw pistachios optional
Instructions
For the sugar syrup:
- Place the sugar, lemon juice and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon to dissolve the sugar.
- Once it boils, reduce heat to low, and simmer for seven minutes. Do not cover the saucepan.
- Add the orange blossom water and simmer for one more minute. Set aside to cool down.
The lower layer:
- Tear the bread into small pieces.
- Add the melted butter and knead with your hands, ending up with a dough of one texture.
- Coat a 30cm/12 inches round baking tin with a small piece of butter, and press the bread into the bottom of the tin.
- Add the sliced mozzarella (the middle layer) almost covering the bread in the tin. Set aside.
For the pudding:
- Crush the mastic gum, if used, with a mortar and pestle.
- Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add the milk, semolina, heavy cream, sugar, cheese and crushed mastic gum (if used). Whisk constantly over medium heat.
- Continue whisking until the cheese is melted and the mixture is thickened.
- Pour the pudding (we prepared) over the sliced mozzarella in the baking pan.
Bake:
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Position the rack the lower third (just below center) of the oven.
- Loosely cover the knafeh with foil.
- Bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until the lower layer of knafeh is deep golden in color.
- Turn the knafeh onto a flat serving dish, and garnish with some ground pistachios.
- Cut into slices and drizzle sugar syrup over each serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- Mastic gum could be quite difficult for many of you to find. If not available, then use ½ teaspoon of sugar vanilla. However, if mastic gum is available in your household, then do not hesitate to use it in this recipe. It really enhances the flavor.
28 Comments
I always wanted to make kunafa and thought that making it at home would be the most challenging task, and I am glad I found your easy to follow recipe. I can`t wait to make it
Hi Hadia, I am an Italian married to a Lebanese. Just made your knafah and my husband loved it. I love your recipes and your photography is gorgeous.
I hope you enjoy it as much as we do, Lisa!
That is great to hear, Manuella! Thank you for the feedback and welcome dear!
This looks wonderful!
Thank you Ann, and it tastes just as it looks!!
Looking forward to trying out your kunafah.It looks absolutely amazing.
I hope you like it Elsie as much as we do! Let me know how it turns out for you!
I love that you put all the measurements in imperial and metric Units. It makes it so much easier for me as a german to recook your recipe^^ awesome!
Hii Hadias cuisine!! This looks amazing!! A small clarification-what kind of akkawi do you use? Chiki?? Thanks a lot
Hi, I can not get Akkawi cheese where I live but you say a mix of mascarpone and mozzarella can be used as a substitute.
Please can you tell me in what quantities each would need to be.
thanks
Hi wondering if I this can be prepped ahead of time. Would I do all up to step 9 then refrigerate till I need to bake – will it be okay to keep uncooked but assembled over night?
By the way, I have made this before and it was excellent. I did make small additions to cheese. Thanks.
Hi Hadia, lovely recipe, can’t wait to try this.
I had a question, is it possible to freeze akkawi cheese? I suppose it might affect the flavour, but apart from that, is it okay?
Hi!
Thank you for the great recipe! This is my go to kunafa recipe now!
Hi,
I kept the baked kunafah in refrigerator. But after I reheat it, the cheese became hard. I used cream cheese. How to prevent it from being hard?
Hello, I love your page! I would like to try this recipe. What kind of bread is used?
This is an unforgettable dessert. I ate it in Jerusalem Old City, a genuine Knafe Nabulsiye. Now I have a way of making it myself. Thanks to this recipe!
This looks so delicious, I used to buy it from a Lebanese family store in NYC long years ago. How much mastic gum do you add? This brings so many memories, thank you.
Can you give an idea of quantities of mozzarella/ricotta to use to substitute for the cheese? My grocery store stopped carrying it 🙁 thanks!