Cheese Kunafa Recipe (Kunefe)

Name: Cheese Kunafa Recipe (Kunefe)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 75 min
Ingredients: 1 cup water; 2 cup sugar; 1 tsp lemon juice; 2 tsp rose water ((or vanilla)); 1 lb. kataifi dough ((shredded fillo dough)); 1 cup melted ghee ((or clarified butter)); ½ lb. fresh mozzarella cheese; 1 cup clotted cream; 2 Tbsp ground pistachios

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This Cheese Kunafa recipe (also called kunefe) is a wonderful Middle Eastern dessert with a crispy and buttery kataifi dough exterior and a gooey, creamy, and cheesy center. Similar to baklawa, it's drenched in delicious rich syrup.

Like many Middle Eastern desserts, Kunefe is spelled in a variety of ways including kanafa and knafeh. It's very popular in the Middle East/Levant region. So whether you're traveling to Turkey, Iraq, Palestine, or Egypt, you're sure to find it on the menu!

The most authentic Kunafa recipes have a cheese filling made with Akkawi (Nabulsi) cheese. This slightly salty and stretchy cheese is named after the city Akka (Acre, present-day Isreal).

Since Akawi cheese is hard to find, mozzarella cheese is often substituted in cheese kunafa recipes. Mozzarella has a similar texture and stretchy cheese pull.

Some kunafa recipes are prepared with clotted cream (ashta). In this cheese kunafa recipe, I used a mixture of fresh mozzarella cheese and geymar (clotted cream).

Finally, the baked dessert is garnished with ground pistachios and drizzled with rose-scented sugar syrup. Trust me when I say, it's amazing!

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😍 Why You'll Love This Recipe
🛒 What You Need To Make Kunafa
🔖 Ingredients & Substitutions
🔪 Helpful Tools
🥮 How To Make Cheese Kunafa
🤷🏻‍♀️ Recipe FAQs
👩🏼‍🍳 Pro Tips
🍮 Related Recipes
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

😍 Why You'll Love This Recipe

This impressive dessert is not only tasty but also easy to prepare!
My recipe makes 10-12 servings so it's a great dessert option when you have company over.
It can be prepared ahead of time and baked when you're ready to serve it.
Kunafa leftovers can be reheated in the microwave, air-fryer, or toaster oven.

🛒 What You Need To Make Kunafa

🔖 Ingredients & Substitutions

Kataifi: Also called shredded phyllo dough, this pastry can usually be located in the freezer section. If your local grocery store doesn't carry it, try a Middle Eastern market, or better yet, make your own with my How to Make Katiafi From Scratch recipe.
Ghee: It's best to use ghee or clarified butter so that you can get the kataifi as crispy as possible.
Kunafa Pastry Coloring: Think of Kunafa pastry coloring as food coloring that is mixed with melted butter and kataifi to give kunafa an orange tint. I don't add it but you can if you'd like.
Cheese: As mentioned above, Akkawi is the traditional cheese used in the filling. However, you can use mozzarella cheese. Fresh mozzarella makes for the stretchiest cheese. Some recipes even use ricotta cheese or cream cheese but you won't have the stretchy cheese that kunafa is known for.
Cream: A creamy milk pudding, known as ashta can be purchased from Middle Eastern markets. You can also find clotted cream online. Finally, you can make clotted cream. All you need is heavy cream and cornstarch.
Syrup: You'll need to make a rich simple syrup and flavor it with rose water, orange blossom water, or vanilla extract.
Garnish: Kunafa is usually garnished with ground pistachios.

🔪 Helpful Tools

Small saucepan to make the syrup.
Shallow pan, a Kunafa plate, or a muffin pan to make mini individual kunafa.
A food processor, sharp knife, or kitchen shears to chop the kataifi pastry.

🥮 How To Make Cheese Kunafa

Kunafa isn't hard to prepare as long as you work in logical steps. Start by preparing the syrup and while the syrup is on the stove, shred and butter the katiafi. All that's left after that is to assemble the kunafa and bake it. You got this!

Prepare the Syrup

Step 1: Whisk water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Stir lemon juice and rose water into the syrup. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Pro Tip: The difference between simple syrup and rich simple syrup is the sugar-to-water ratio. Simple syrup has a 1 to 1 ratio while rich simple syrup has a 2 (sugar) to 1 (water) ratio.

Shred and Butter the Kataifi

Step 2: Defrost kataifi according to package instructions.

Pro Tip: It is recommended that you defrost frozen kataifi dough in the fridge until you're ready to use it.

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Preheat oven to 350° F

Step 3: Melt the ghee in a small saucepan or microwave. Brush the bottom of the pan with melted ghee or butter.

Pro Tip: If you prefer to use butter, add it to a measuring cup and cover it with a napkin. Microwave for 30 seconds, then 15-second intervals until completely melted. Skim the white foamy surface to remove the water and milk solids. If you freeze it first, it's even easier to separate!

Step 4: Shred kataifi dough into smaller pieces using a food processor, a sharp knife, or a pair of kitchen shears.

Step 5: Add kataifi to a large bowl and pour ghee over it. Work the ghee into all the strands. Add half of the buttered pastry into the prepared pan. Press firmly with your hands or the bottom of a glass to compact it. Work some of it up the sides of the tray.

Assemble the Kunafa

Step 6: Blot each round of mozzarella cheese between paper towels to remove excess moisture, then arrange it in the tray. Spoon clotted cream over it and cover it with the remaining kataifi. Press lightly to compact.

Bake Kunafa in the Oven

Step 7: Bake kunafa in the oven for 45 -60 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately pour at least half of the cooled syrup over the hot kunafa. Serve the extra syrup on the side.

Drizzle with Syrup and Serve

Step 8: Cool for 10 minutes. Place a platter over the pan then flip it or serve it straight out of the pan. Decorate with ground pistachio, slice into wedges, and serve while the cheese is warm and stretchy.

Looking for other delicious Middle Eastern dessert recipes? Make sure you try my new puff pastry baklava recipe!

🤷🏻‍♀️ Recipe FAQs

What does kunafa taste like?

Kunafa is crispy on the outside, cheesy and gooey on the inside, and sweetened with a rose or orange-flavored syrup. It's warm, crunchy, creamy, and sweet!

Is kunafa eaten cold or hot?

Kunafa shouldn't be served hot or cold. The best way to enjoy kunafa is warm so that the cheese is melty and stretchy, and the kataifi pastry is still crispy.

What cheese is Kunafa made of?

Traditionally, Kunafa is made with Akawi cheese however there are also some great substitutes, for example, mozzarella. Sometimes ricotta or cream cheese are used.

👩🏼‍🍳 Pro Tips

Although kataifi is often referred to as shredded phyllo dough, don't attempt to make some by shredding phyllo dough. Unlike phyllo dough, katiafi is spun and is made of fine strands, not strips of phyllo.
You can prepare kunefe ahead of time and freeze it until you're ready to bake it. Bring it to room temperature before baking it.
The top of kunefe is usually darker and crispier than the bottom. For this reason, you may choose NOT to flip it.
Another option is to flip the kunefe onto another metal tray. If the bottom needs browning, you can slip it back into the oven for a few more minutes.
Edible roses can be used to garnish kunefe.
Store kunafa leftovers in an air-tight container for approximately 3 days.

serving a slice of kunafa — Kunefe garnished with edible roses

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