We spent almost half the month of August sampling tons of Kunafa. My brother-in-law took us to this wonderful Turkish place to eat their famous kunafa, my sister experimented with her own yummy version of the recipe, and we also had it for dessert in almost 5-6 more restaurants, so for about a few months afterwards I didn’t even want to hear the word Kunafa anymore because we’d eaten so much of it!
This weekend we had some house guests, I had some Kunafa Kaitaifi in my freezer, and 8 was reminiscing fondly about this dish that ‘only her aunt’ (aka my sister) could possibly know how to make, so I thought I’d make it for them.
It really is a gorgeous looking dessert to serve especially when you feel the weather’s getting cooler, and it goes beautifully with a cup of tea or coffee. In fact, you could heat it up the next day for about 10 minutes in the oven and eat it for breakfast 😉
Yet again, I didn’t get the chance to take pictures of each step, but here’s the quick version for those who’d like the make the Kunafa soon :
- Thaw the Kunafa pastry and shred into smaller strands with your fingers or in a food processor. Measure out about 4 cups of the shredded pastry and put into a mixing bowl. Add in ¾ cup of melted butter to the pastry and mix well to coat all the strands. Set aside.
- In a saucepan, boil 1 cup of half n half. Add in two tbsp sugar. Mix 1/3 cup milk with 2.5 tbsp cornstarch. Add to the saucepan, whisking for about a minute. Bring to boil, reduce heat and cook for 5 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes.
- Pre-heat the oven to 350F.
- Grease a 9 x 2 inch round baking dish. Press down two cups of the buttered shredded fillo dough onto the bottom of the pan.
- Pour all the cream mixture into the dish over the shredded fillo layer.
- Top with the rest of the shredded fillo dough and transfer to the oven making sure it evenly covers all the cream.
- Transfer to the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile make a simple sugar syrup by boiling 1 cup of sugar with 1 cup of water. Add 3 cardamoms, 1tsp lemon juice and a couple of strands of saffron (optional). Bring the syrup to a boil, then let it simmer for about 5-7 minutes until the syrup has thickened and all the sugar is melted. Remove the cardamoms.
- As soon as the Kunafa comes out of the oven, set it on the counter and immediately pour ¾ of the sugar syrup all over it.
- After about 10-15 minutes, carefully invert the kunafa onto a serving dish. Drizzle the remainder of sugar syrup over the top, and serve.
Note : You can substitute the half n half with 1/2 cup of whole milk and 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream.