Kunefe - Turkish Sweet Cheese Pastry

Of the many culinary gifts the Ottoman Empire left spread to the Middle East and North Africa was phyllo dough. Of its many uses, shredded phyllo strands called Kadafi are used to make different baklavas, the luscious Kunafa bil Kishkan, and this popular Turkish sweet cheese pastry, Kunefe.

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Middle Eastern, Turkey

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 45

Total Time: 1

Servings:

Author: My Hungry Traveler

Equipment

Food Processor or blender
9-inch pie plate
Medium bowl
Wooden spoon
small saucepan

Ingredients

8 oz Packaged Kadaifi (shredded phyllo dough)
8 tbsp Unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp Whole milk (Sub: 2% milk)
4 oz Buffalo mozzarella cheese, grated (Sub: fresh whole milk mozzarella)
12 oz Ricotta cheese
1 cup Ground pistachio nuts, divided
2 tbsp Powdered sugar
¼ tsp Grated nutmeg
2 cup Water
1 cup Honey
½ cup Sugar
1 stick Cinnamon

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Instructions

Preheat oven to 375℉ (190℃). Place kadafi (shredded phyllo) in a food processor and chop finely. Add melted butter and milk to kadafi in food processor. Line the bottom of a heavy square baking dish with half of this mixture. Gently flatten evenly using moistened hands.
Combine cheeses with half the ground pistachios, powdered sugar, and nutmeg. Spread over buttered kadaifi in the baking dish and then top with remaining phyllo-butter mixture. Bake for 45 minutes.
While kunefe is baking, make syrup by boiling water, sugar, and honey until it reduces by a third and becomes thick. Stir in rose water, if using.
Serve hot by pouring ⅔ of the hot syrup over the kunefe and sprinkle remaining ground pistachios over. Cut into squares and serve with remaining syrup to pass around while eating.

Notes

A nice alternative to sweet honey syrup is to combine 1 1/2 cup sugar, 3 cups water, and 1 tbsp lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium -high heat for 10 minutes.

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