Kunāfah | Traditional Sweet Pastry From Egypt | TasteAtlas

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Sweet Pastry Street Food Sweets Cheese Dessert

Kunāfah

(Kanafeh Nabulsieh, Künefe, Konafah, Knafeh, Konafa, Künefe hatay, Kunafeh)

Kunāfah consists of two crunchy layers of shredded and buttered kataifi or knefe dough, filled with a luscious cheese cream that's often flavored with orange zest and cardamom, then drenched in a sugar syrup infused with lemon juice and orange blossom water.

Turkish künefe is traditionally made with Hatay, Urfa, or Antep cheese. It is usually topped with pistachios and is best served warm. Elegant and amazingly simple to make, this dessert is nothing short of what cheese-filled pastry dreams are made of.

Some authors speculate that it originated from the pre-Islamic Syria, while others claim that the Palestinian city of Nablus is its birthplace - hence the name kanafeh nabulsieh. Nevertheless, this decadent dessert has been a part of a long culinary tradition in Türkiye and Egypt, and it is listed as one of Egypt's national dishes.

Palestine

and 6 more regions

Types of Kunāfah

Antakya künefesi

4.6

Antakya, Turkiye

Serve with

Dairy Product

Kaymak

This traditional Turkish dairy product is thought to have origins among the Turkic people of Central Asia. A bit later, it has spread across the Middle East, the Balkans,... Read more

Recipe variations

4.9
Cream Kunāfah
READY IN 1h 40min
Written by the famous, Egyptian-born cookbook author Claudia Roden, this recipe was adapted from her The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, one of the many she wrote on the subject. In this variant, the filling is made with heavy cream, milk, sugar, and rice flour. Claudia Roden suggests using only half of the prepared sugar syrup for drizzling the kunāfah and serving the other half to the guests who like their kunāfah extra juicy.
4.9
Ricotta Kunāfah
READY IN 1h
The following recipe shows how to make the kunāfah with ricotta cheese. Also, this recipe calls for more cheese than usual, and the sweetness can be adjusted to taste by using the amount of syrup to your liking. If you cannot find special kunāfah dough, substitute it with kataifi pastry, available in most oriental food stores.
4.9
Kunāfah with Mixed Nuts
READY IN 2h 25min
In this variant, the filling is made from a combination of pistachios, walnuts or almonds, which can be combined to taste. We advise not to keep the kunāfah in the fridge because the pastry will go from juicy to soggy.

Kunāfah Authentic recipe

PREP 40min

COOK 1h

READY IN 1h 40min

Written by the famous, Egyptian-born cookbook author Claudia Roden, this recipe was adapted from her The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, one of the many she wrote on the subject. In this variant, the filling is made with heavy cream, milk, sugar, and rice flour. Claudia Roden suggests using only half of the prepared sugar syrup for drizzling the kunāfah and serving the other half to the guests who like their kunāfah extra juicy.

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WHERE TO EAT The best Kunāfah in the world (according to food experts)

Mark Wiens and 23 other food critics.

"When you’re in Amman, visiting Habibah Sweets for their kanafeh is nearly a right of passage."

Lonely Planet and 7 other food critics.

"Every day the warm, elastic cheese and syrup-soaked wheat shreds (it works, trust us) is divvied up from huge circular trays and dispensed to a throng of hungry customers."

Frommer's and 6 other food critics.

"This is the top place in the Old City for sampling kanafeh, a rich traditional Middle Eastern dessert made of mildly sweet cheese, grains, and pistachios baked in a very light honey syrup."

Anthony Rahayel and 3 other food critics.

"The Knefeh was in a normal piece of Kaaka and the bun was very well done, thin and not chewy, the perfect holder of the inner sweet filling. The buns were produced that morning and it showed in their fluffiness and smell. Inside is a huge portion of Knefeh that's maybe good for breakfast and lunch combined. A melted, premium quality cheese and an enjoyable sweetness that stays in the mouth for some time told me that L'Abeille D'Or knew what they were doing. Every bite combined a mix of aromas and my taste buds really appreciated the mix. Sugar syrup adds the sweet flavor to make it an enjoyable way to start your day."

Fodor's Travel and 10 other food critics.

"The signature dessert, knafeh - baked sweet cheese in phyllo dough, topped with rosewater and pistacchios - requires a worthwhile 10-minute wait while it bakes."

Devra First and 6 other food critics.

"The evening concluded with a truly exceptional “new school konafi” — a sophisticated version of an Israeli dessert made from shredded phyllo dough. The chocolate mascarpone-stuffed konafi was drizzled with a delicate kumquat syrup."

The Winged Fork and 2 other food critics.

"If you have a sweet tooth, then the Hafiz Mustafa pastry shops are going to be your favourite places in Istanbul. Everything we’ve tried there, including künefe (a miracle of string pastry filled with cheese and doused in butter) was simply and undoubtedly divine. So, perhaps you’ll need more than one trip to Hafiz Mustafa in order to appreciate these tastes to the fullest."