Kunefe: Sweet Cheese Pastry
Kunefe is a heavenly Turkish dessert with a crispy top and velvety middle.
About this Recipe
Kunefe is a heavenly Turkish dessert with a crispy top and velvety middle. In this dessert, unsalted cheese is sandwiched between two layers of buttered and shredded filo dough (also known as phyllo). Then, it’s sweetened with syrup whilst still hot, making cheese melt and become stringy. It should be eaten as soon as it’s cooked so that the cheese is still gooey inside. A crushed pistachio topping accompanied with ice-cream or clotted cream goes really well with it.
SERVES 6-8
PREP TIME: 15 MINS
COOK TIME: 30 MINS
This is a signature dish of Hatay, Turkey’s southernmost province, which has been a gastronomical melting pot for hundreds of years. Its history and location combine the culinary delights of the Arabs, Kurds, Assyrians, Muslims, Christians and Alevis from the region. Künefe was introduced to Turkish cuisine from far away Palestine where it was born.
I can wholeheartedly say that kunefe is one of the Turkish nation’s favourite desserts. So much so, that if there was a battle of the sweets, it could have easily been runner up (or maybe the winner in some people’s hearts) to the world-famous baklava. Talking about rivalry, “The Best Kunefe Throwing Competition” has been held in Hatay since 2019. During this event, contestants flip kunefe up in the air and try to make it land straight on its other side. If you make any acrobatic moves while throwing, you get more points. Sounds fun, right?
Even though this is a straight forward dish to make, I would like to share some notes that will help you when cooking.
SOME CULTURAL NOTES, TIPS & SUGGESTIONS
- Traditionally, kunefe is served with organic milk. When milk is drunk, it resets all the tastes previously felt in the mouth. In this way, the taste and the quality of the dessert can be appreciated better. Milk also makes the dessert tastes lighter.
- Usually, it’s cooked in a shallow, round copper tray – specifically designed for making this dessert – on a wood fire. This type of tray distributes heat more evenly and slowly. In case you don’t own one, I will show you how you can achieve a similar taste and look with a regular pan in this recipe.
- When pouring syrup, the pastry should be hot, and the syrup should be at room temperature. If both of them are hot, the dessert would have a doughy consistency which we aim to avoid at all costs.
- Kunefe is made with Hatay cheese which is not easy to find abroad. If you would like to substitute, make sure the cheese you choose is not salty nor runny. On the other hand, it should have a melting quality. Unsalted melting cheese complements the sweetness of the syrup and makes this dessert perfectly well balanced. That’s why in my recipe I replace Hatay cheese with mozzarella.
- Suppose you would like your kunefe to be close to traditional Hatay kunefe. In that case, you can mix two tablespoons of molasses with a knob of butter. Coat the pan with half of this mix and prepare the dish according to below instructions. Once the bottom side is cooked, use a plate to carefully invert the künefe. Brush the pan with butter & molasses mix again, slide the dessert back in and cook for a further 10-15 minutes until golden.
- The syrup is the building block that brings together and blends kadayıf and cheese. Therefore it should be neither too sparse nor too rigid. You will know your syrup is ready when it falls off your spoon in a continuous syrup-like strand rather than dripping off. Remember, when still hot, syrup will have a thin, liquidy consistency. Once it’s cooled down, it will become thicker.
Ingredients
The Syrup
- 200 ml / 6.8 fl oz water
- 200 g / 7 oz sugar
- 1/4 tsp lemon juice
Kunefe
- 300 g / 11 oz shredded filo dough (see note)
- 150 g / 5.3 oz unsalted butter, melted and clarified, some extra to coat the pan (see note)
- 200 g / 7.1 oz kunefe or mozzarella cheese or any other melting, unsalted cheese, grated
To Serve
- Clotted cream or clotted cream ice-cream
- Crushed pistachios
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
First, prepare the syrup as it needs to be served at room temperature.
The Syrup
Mix the sugar and water in a saucepan. Over low heat, stir it until the sugar dissolves. Bring it to a boil and simmer for 12 minutes.
Step 2
Add lemon juice and simmer for 3 more minutes until it’s ready. You can tell that the syrup is ready when it falls off your spoon in a continuous strand rather than dripping off. Take it off the heat and leave it to cool.
Step 3
Kunefe
Detangle all the shredded filo dough with your fingers and cut them with a pair of scissors into 1-2 cm small pieces.
Step 4
Mix the lukewarm, clarified butter with shredded filo dough. Make sure that you work the butter through the pastry fully. Then divide it into two equal batches.
Step 5
Brush a 30 cm (dia.12 inches) frying pan with some butter. Distribute half of the dough at the bottom of the pan, making sure it covers the whole surface. Press it gently with your hands, so it’s completely flat.
Step 6
Toss the grated cheese evenly over the shredded filo dough in the pan.
Step 7
Put the rest of the pastry on top of the cheese without leaving any gaps. Press down with the help of a plate or lid, so that it’s completely flattened.
Step 8
Pan-fry over low heat for 10-15 minutes or until the pastry is golden underneath.
Step 9
Use a plate to carefully invert the kunefe. Brush the pan with butter again and slide the dessert back in onto its uncooked side. Cook for a further 10-15 minutes until golden before removing from the pan.
Step 10
While it is still hot, pour the cold syrup over the whole dessert. Cut the kunefe into equal pieces. Put a scoop of clotted ice-cream over each künefe and serve it hot with crushed pistachios on top.
Notes
Shredded filo dough or known as “taze kadayıf” in Turkish: It’s available online as well as in Turkish and Middle Eastern shops.
Clarified butter: After you have melted the butter, you need to skim the foamy white layer from the butter’s surface. The golden butterfat you are left with is your clarified butter. You need to soak your shredded filo dough with this butter making sure each piece coated well to stop it from burning during cooking.
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