Creamy and Cheesy Kunafa Recipe
Creamy and cheesy kunafa recipe with a crunchy kunafa dough baked in a layer of cheese mixture then poured with sweet syrup. It’s simple to make but tastes so great.
Equipment
- Sauce/ cooking pan
- Wooden spoon or whisk
- Oven
- 9"x3" round baking pan
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Silicone brush
Ingredients
Kunafa Ingredients:
- 350 grams kunafa dough, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 200 grams ghee or butter, melted
- ¼ teaspoon annato (achuete) powder or any orange food color - optional but recommended
- ¼ cup pistachio, crushed - for garnish
Sugar syrup:
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon rose water
Kunafa filling:
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup heavy cream or whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons corn flour
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 teaspoon rose water
- 1 teaspoon orange blossom water
- ¾ cup mozzarella cheese, more for extra cheesy kunafa
- ½ cup cottage cheese
Instructions
Prepare the dough:
- Combine orange food color with melted ghee or butter. Mix well until fully incorporated.
- In a medium mixing bowl, pour the melted ghee or butter over the kunafa dough. Mix with your hands to distribute evenly on the dough. Use hand gloves so that color will not stick to hands.
- Brush a 9-inch baking pan with ghee or butter and place ⅔ of the dough mixture.
- Flatten dough using the bottom of a measuring cup or glass by gently pressing it. Flatten the sides as well and set aside.
Prepare the aromatic syrup:
- In a sauce/ cooking pan, add water and sugar. Mix slightly to dissolve sugar. Simmer until mixture gets thicker, about 4-5 minutes.
- Add the lemon juice and cook for another 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and pour the rose water. Stir to dissolve and transfer to a sauce/ gravy boat.
Prepare the cream & cheese filling:
- In the same sauce/ cooking pan, combine milk, heavy cream, sugar and cornstarch. Mix well to combine.
- Turn on heat to low and cook the mixture until it gets thicker. Stir constantly with a whisk to prevent the mixture from sticking to the pan.
- Once it thickens, add rose water and orange blossom water and mix to blend.
- Turn off the heat and add mozzarella cheese and cottage cheese. Mix well until blended.
Assemble the kunafa:
- Preheat the oven to 200 °C / 390 °F.
- Pour the cream and cheese filling over the prepared baking pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle with more mozzarella cheese on top (optional).
- Place the remaining dough mixture on top of the cream and cheese filling. Make sure to cover the whole cheese filling.
- Brush top with some melted ghee or butter using a silicon brush to settle it properly.
- Put the baking pan in the preheated oven and bake for about 30-40 minutes or until it turns golden and crunchy in the surface.
- As soon as it gets out of the oven, pour ½-¾ cup of the syrup evenly over the whole kunafa. Wait for 5-7 minutes for the syrup to seep in. Reserve leftover syrup for drizzling over individual servings.
- Place a large plate over the baking pan then flip it to transfer the kunafa onto the plate.
- Garnish with crushed pistachio. Cut the kunafa like a pizza or cake and serve with more syrup and crushed pistachio.
- Share and enjoy!
