Cheese Kunafa
Ingredients
Sugar syrup
- 3/4 Cup | 180gm Sugar
- 3/4 Cup | 180ml Water
- Few drops of Lemon juice
- 1 Tsp Rose Water
- 1 Tsp Orange blossom Water
Kunafa Dough
- 230gm Kunafa Dough
- 4 Tbsp powdered Sugar
- 1/2 Cup | 100gm melted Ghee/Clarified Butter
Cream filling
- 1 Cup Cold Milk
- 2 Tbsp Cornstarch
- 2 Tbsp Sugar
- 1/2 Cup | 120ml Heavy whipping Cream
- 1 Tsp Rose water
To Assemble
- 9 inch mould
- 1 Tbsp Butter, softened
- Orange food color few drops, optional
- 120gm Kunafa Nabulsi Cheese (Dil Peyniri) or Mozzarella
- Pistachios
- Green food color, optional
Instructions
- Prepare the Sugar syrup by heating Sugar and Water on Low Heat. Simmer for 5 mins. Add Lemon juice, Rose water and Orange Blossom water. Allow to cool down.
- Make the Cream Filling by mixing Cornstarch to Cold milk. Whisk well till no lumps. Do not add to warm milk else it will get lumpy. Add Whipping Cream, Sugar and Rose Water. Switch on the heat and Stir till it becomes thick like pudding. Let it cool down. If it becomes too thick after cooling add some milk and whisk it.
- Make Crushed Pistachios by soaking pistachios in hot water for 15mins. Remove the skin, strain and wash. Dry roast on low heat for 5 mins. Coarsely Chop them in a chopper. Mix with green food color. Dry roast again on low heat few minutes till dry. Keep refrigerated airtight.
- Make the Kunafa dough by cutting the dough into small strands. I find it easy to use kitchen scissors to chop the strands rathar than knife. Mix powdered sugar and melted Ghee or clarified Butter. Rub the ghee into each strand well. This makes them crispy.
- Take a 9 inch baking tin. Grease it with 1 Tbsp room temperature butter mixed with orange food color. Layer the Kunafa dough. Keep a raised border on the sides. Press down with a measuring cup or a glass.
- Place half of the cream filling in the centre. Spread it out. Place shredded mozzarella. Now cover the mozzarella with rest of the cream filling. This helps to keep the cheese from hardening even after cooling.
- Layer with the Kunafa dough, press down gently make it even. Tuck the sides inside. This gives a good shape. Drizzle with Ghee.
- Bake at 200C for 25-30Mins or till Golden Brown. Drizzle with half of the sugar syrup while it's hot. Let it absorb for some time. Reverse the side and pour the sugar syrup on the other side as well.
- Garnish with Crushed Pistachios, few dried rose petals. Serve it warm with more sugar syrup.
Video
Notes
Authentic Turkish Kunafa uses only Akkawi or Nabulsi Cheese which stays soft and stretchy even after cooling but rarely available, so instead Mozarella can be used along with a Cream layer which will keep the Mozarella from hardening after cooling and gives almost the same creamy taste