Kunafah with a slice cut out

Kunafah

Name: Kunafah
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 1 h 40 min
Total time: 2 h 20 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Mediterranean, Middle Eastern
Ingredients: 400g frozen kunafah; 250g pure butter ghee melted and cooled slightly, plus extra for the tin; 50g pistachios crushed (optional); 6 tbsp cornflour; 3 tbsp caster sugar; 500ml whole milk; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 350g clotted cream or thick double cream; 100g ricotta; 250g caster sugar; ½ lemon juiced; ½ tsp vanilla extract

Soha Darwish

Save recipe

Serves 6 - 8

Easy

Prep: 40 mins

Cook: 1 hr and 40 mins

plus cooling

0 reviews

loading...

Kunafa, a popular Ramadan dessert, combines crunchy sweet noodles with creamy fillings like cheese, cream, or nuts, then is drenched in syrup

Vegetarian

Skip to ingredients

Alternatives

Complete the dish

Soha Darwish says, "Kunafa or Knafeh is the most famous Ramadan dessert across the Arab world and the Middle East; sweet, rich, crunchy, and creamy inside – with numerous traditional variations. It was originally served in Ramadan during the Umayyad Caliphate when Muawiya – the Caliph – ordered his cook to prepare a rich dish to help him endure the fasting. Kunafah is a thin noodle-like dough, and is packed in loops and sold chilled or frozen in supermarkets. I have always found the process of making fresh kunafah in traditional Arabic souqs hypnotising. I vividly remember the kanafani – the person who makes kunafah – towering over a circular hot stove with a shower-head-like tool in his hand seeping with runny dough, skilfully drawing continuous spirals that are transformed instantly to hair-like noodles. Kunafah is usually finely chopped and laid in a tray with a filling of either cheese, clotted cream or toasted nuts with raisins. It’s then baked until golden crunchy and drenched with sugar syrup."

Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

400g frozen kunafah
250g pure butter ghee

melted and cooled slightly, plus extra for the tin
50g pistachios

crushed (optional)

For the filling

6 tbsp cornflour
3 tbsp caster sugar
500ml whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
350g clotted cream or thick double cream
100g ricotta

For the syrup

250g caster sugar
½ lemon

juiced
½ tsp vanilla extract

Keep the screen awake with cook mode on the Good Food app.

Nutrition: (8)

kcal972
fat66g
saturates38g
carbs87g
sugars44g
fibre1g
protein8g
salt0.63g

Method

step 1

To make the filling, whisk together the cornflour and sugar in a saucepan, then gradually whisk in the milk. Add the vanilla and clotted cream, then set over a low-medium heat. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring regularly, for 6-8 mins or until it thickens to the texture of a thick crème pâtissière. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool, whisking occasionally to prevent lumps forming. Spread onto a plate and set aside to cool fully.
step 2

Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment. Using a rolling pin, bash the frozen kunafah, still in its pack, until broken up into powdery pieces. Tip into a bowl and pour over the ghee, then toss together using your hands. Divide the mixture into two, tipping half onto a baking tray and patting out into a 24cm circle using your hands, ensuring there are no gaps. Using a spatula, scrape the cooled filling out on top of the kunafah, then scatter over the ricotta. Carefully cover with the remaining half of the kunafah mixture, trying not to leave any gaps. Bake for 30 mins until golden and crispy all over.
step 3

Meanwhile, to make the sugar syrup tip the sugar, lemon juice, vanilla and 250ml water into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for 5-7 mins until the sugar has dissolved and has thickened slightly, then set aside to cool to room temperature.
step 4

Remove the kunafah from the oven and leave to cool for 15 mins, then invert onto a serving dish. Pour over the cooled syrup to serve and garnish with the pistachios, if using.

RECIPE TIPS

Frozen kunafah is also called ‘quataifi’ in some Middle Eastern shops; ‘kadayif’ or ‘kataifi’ in Mediterranean shops.

For a more traditional take, swap out the thick double cream for 2 x 125ml packs of Puck thick cream (available in Middle Eastern shops) and reduce the cornflour to 3 tbsp.

Comments, questions and tips

Rate this recipe

What is your star rating out of 5?1 star out of 52 stars out of 53 stars out of 54 stars out of 55 stars out of 5

Choose the type of message you'd like to post

CommentQuestionTip

Overall rating

0 reviews

Get 3 months of Good Food All Access

Get 3 months of Good Food All Access for just £6. Find triple-tested recipes that take the stress out of deciding what to cook, spend less time planning, and more time enjoying the season.

Subscribe now