Kadayif (or Kadaif) is made with kataifi pastry, also called tel kadayif. These thin noodles are layered with a cardamom-flavored pistachio filling and drenched in a delicious rose water-flavored syrup. It's easier to prepare than Baklava, and is often served with Turkish Coffee.
This Kadayif recipe has its roots in the Middle East but most likely originated in Turkey. It's popular in Greece, Albania, and throughout the Middle East and the Mediterranean.
The crunchy texture of the nuts and tel Kadayif and the sticky sweetness of the syrup are irresistible and go great with a hot cup of chai!
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🧐 Why This Recipe Works
- This popular Turkish dessert takes minutes to prepare, not hours. In fact, the hardest part will be waiting for it to come out of the oven!
- Unlike traditional Baklava, Kadayif is a beginner recipe. Many cooks are intimidated by recipes that use phyllo dough. Let's be honest, the thin and fragile phyllo sheets can be a pain to work with and layer. Kataifi (sometimes called shredded phyllo dough) is much easier to work with!
🛒 What You Need For This Recipe
🔖 Recipe Ingredient Notes
- Kataifi — Although the name of this shredded pastry dough "Kataifi" sounds awfully similar to the name of this recipe, "Kadayif," don't let that confuse you. You can refer to it as "shredded filo or phyllo dough" when you ask for it at your local grocery store. It is used to make Kanafeh (kataifi stuffed with Akawi cheese) and other Middle Eastern desserts and can be found in the freezer section of most Greek or Middle Eastern markets.
- Nuts: Pistachios are the preferred nuts to use in most Kadaif recipes, however, you can also use walnuts and hazelnuts.
- Rose Flower Water — Rose Flower Water or Orange Blossom Water are added to the syrup to give the Kadayif a Middle Eastern flair and both can be purchased on Amazon. I have yet to make rosewater from scratch, but here's a rosewater recipe if you want to try it!
- Spices — Cardamom and cinnamon are used in this recipe and work very well together.
- Syrup — Although most people choose either honey or simple syrup when making Kadayif, I prefer a mixture of both. You don't have to use raw and unfiltered honey like I did. You can also add a small cinnamon stick, whole cloves, or citrus peels to flavor the syrup.
🍯 How to Make Kadayif
Note: Defrost Kadaifi (shredded Fillo dough) according to package instructions.
Prepare Syrup
Step 1: Add water, sugar, and honey to a saucepan and cook over medium heat, while stirring, until the sugar is dissolved.
Step 2: Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Skim off the foam that comes to the surface. Mix in lemon juice and rose or orange blossom water and boil for a few additional minutes. Set aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F
Clarify Butter
Melt butter in the microwave or over very low heat. Clarify the butter by skimming the white foamy surface off then pour it into a measuring cup, leaving behind the milky residue on the bottom.
Note: I started with 1 cup of butter, which yielded ¾ cup of clarified butter).
Prepare the Kadayif Filling
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Coarsely chop the pistachios in a food processor, or place them in a ziplock bag and pound until broken up. Mix cardamom and cinnamon with the ground pistachios.
Assemble & Bake
Step 1: Butter a 9" x 13" baking tray and set aside until needed. Add phyllo dough to a large bowl and break it up with your hands. Arrange half of the dough into the buttered pan.
Step 2: Pour ½ of the melted butter over the shredded phyllo dough and work in with your hands or a pastry brush, making sure all the strands are covered with butter. Press down firmly with your hands to compact the dough.
Step 3: Distribute the entire pistachio mixture evenly over the dough. Add the remaining shredded phyllo dough over the nuts and pour the other ½ cup of clarified butter evenly over the dough.
Step 4: Place the pan in the oven and bake for 60 minutes, or until the filo dough is golden brown.
Step 5: Remove the pan from the oven and slowly pour the syrup all over the pan, making sure to cover every inch. Slice into 24 squares.
Step 6: Allow the Kadayif to come to room temperature before serving. If you have that much self-control, congratulations. You're a better man/woman than I am!
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
Kadayif is made with Kataifi which is the Greek name for "shredded filo dough." However, the dough is not really shredded. Instead, a thin batter is spun in a hot pan to form very thin threads that are coiled together.
The thin noodles are buttered and layered or rolled with a nut mixture filling. The assembled Kadayif is then baked in the oven. A thick syrup is poured over the baked pastry.
Kataifi is not the same as vermicelli noodles. "Vermicelli" means "little worms" in Italian and refers to very thin dry noodles. Sometimes the noodles are sold broken into small pieces, while other times they are sold in coils.
Kataifi, on the other hand, is spun in a hot pan. It's used to make kunafa (sometimes spelled Kunefe).
Besides pistachios, you can use walnuts, pecans, almonds, or a combination of those nuts as a filling to make Kadayif.
Allow the Kadayif to cool completely before storing it. You also want to keep it uncovered, otherwise, it will become soggy.
I prefer to remove the cooled Kadayif from the pan and then store it in another container, partially covered. Another option is to cover it with a cheesecloth. Basically, you want to allow for some air circulation to keep it from getting soft.
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- Keep in mind you will need to defrost frozen Fillo Dough in the fridge overnight before you can use it.
- Most people use either simple syrup or honey to make Kadayif. I prefer a combination of the two, although if I had to suggest just one to use, it would be a simple syrup.
- When pouring syrup over Kadayif, you want the syrup to be cool when you pour it over the hot pastry. The other option is to cook the pastry first and allow it to cool, then add hot syrup over it. This helps the syrup to get absorbed better.
- If you prefer, you can cut the Kadayif prior to pouring the syrup all over it.
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📖 Recipe
Kadayif (Kadaif) Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1 lb. Kadaifi pastry dough (shredded fillo dough)
- 1 cup unsalted butter clarified
Syrup
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup honey
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon rose flower water (orange blossom water)
Filling
- 1½ cup pistachios (chopped finely)
- 1½ teaspoon cardamom powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
Instructions
- Defrost Kadaifi (shredded filo dough) according to package instructions. Keep in mind you will need to defrost frozen dough in the fridge overnight before you can use it.
Syrup
- Add water, sugar, and honey to a saucepan and cook over medium heat, while stirring, until the sugar is dissolved.
- Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Skim off the foam that comes to the surface. Mix in lemon juice and rose or orange blossom water and boil for a few additional minutes. Set aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 350° F
Clarify Butter
- Melt butter in the microwave or over very low heat. Clarify the butter by skimming the white foamy surface off then pour it into a measuring cup, leaving behind the milky residue on the bottom.
Prepare the Filling
- Coarsely chop the pistachios in a food processor, or place them in a ziplock bag and pound until broken up. Mix cardamom and cinnamon with the chopped pistachios.
Assemble & Bake
- Butter a 9" x 13" baking pan and set aside until needed. Add Fillo Dough to a large bowl and break it up with your hands. Arrange half of the dough into the buttered pan.
- Pour ½ of the melted butter over the shredded Fillo dough and work in with your hands or a pastry brush, making sure all the strands are covered with butter. Press down firmly with your hands to compact the dough.
- Distribute the entire pistachio mixture evenly over the dough. Add the remaining shredded Fillo Dough over the nuts and pour the other ½ cup of clarified butter evenly over the dough.
- Bake in the oven for 60 minutes, or until the Fillo Dough is golden brown.
- Remove the pan from the oven and slowly pour the syrup all over the pan, making sure to cover every inch. Slice into squares.
- Allow the Kadayif to come to room temperature before serving. If you have that much self-control, congratulations!
Notes
- Keep in mind you will need to defrost frozen Fillo Dough in the fridge overnight before you can use it.
- Most people use either simple syrup or honey to make Kadayif. I prefer a combination of the two, although if I had to suggest just one to use, it would be a simple syrup.
- When pouring syrup over Kadayif, you want the syrup to be cool when you pour it over the hot pastry. The other option is to cook the pastry first and allow it to cool, then add hot syrup over it. This helps the syrup to get absorbed better.
- If you prefer, you can cut the Kadayif prior to pouring the syrup all over it.
Carolyn Wickwire says
Made a test batch in preparation for our dinner club this weekend. Wonderful! I plan to make the second in an 8x8 pan. Can the syrup be made the day before? Refrigerate or not?
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Carolyn, thank you so much for the review! You can make the syrup the day before, but I would let it get to room temperature while the Kadayif is baking. I've never tried adding cold syrup, so I'm not sure what the results would be. The kadayif can get limp and soft if refrigerated. I would leave it out and lightly cover it with cheesecloth.
Carolyn says
How long can this be stored in the fridge?
Hilda Sterner says
It will be good for 2 to 3 days, the problem is it will soften up over time. Still good, but different texture. If you don't mind the softer texture, it can be stored longer. I usually store it out of the fridge, uncovered, or coverd with cheesecloth. It seems to stay firmer longer.
Ghazala says
Wonderful recipe that is so easy to make. I omitted the spice because my husband doesn't like the smell of them. It was the most perfect recipe with the "just right" amount of syrup. Thank you so much.
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Ghazala,
Thank you so much for the sweet review. I'm so glad you and your husband enjoyed the recipe. 🙂
Kathy Fisher says
I tried your Kadayif today. Simply delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Hilda Sterner says
Come again tomorrow! 😘
Cynthia Donahey says
You can substitute shredded wheat. I knew someone who used this with maple syrup and hickory nuts. Mr. Kellogg did not invent the cereal.