Kunafa
Photo: Gpkp · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

Kunafa, also spelled knafeh, is an Arab dessert of spun pastry dough layered with cheese and soaked in sugar syrup, popular across the Levant and Egypt and often made for Ramadan. Stories of its creation for caliphs date as early as the 10th century, though cheese-filled versions appear in records only from the 19th century. The Nabulsi version comes from Nablus. The osmaleya, served in Abu Dhabi at Tripoli Sweets, is a kunafa cake of two pastry layers around soft cream. Naeem Sweets opened on Hamdan Street in 1974.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Milk, Nuts

Make it at home

Yield Serves 8Hands-on 30 minTotal 1 hr 15 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 400g kunafa (kadayif) pastry, thawed and shredded
  • 150g melted butter or ghee
  • 400g mozzarella or akkawi cheese, grated, mixed with 100g ricotta
  • 250g sugar
  • 250ml water
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon rose or orange blossom water
  • Crushed pistachios, to finish

Method

  1. Boil the sugar, water and lemon juice for 8 minutes into a light syrup. Add the rose water and cool.
  2. Rub the pastry with the melted butter until every strand is coated.
  3. Press half of the pastry into a buttered 24cm round tin. Spread the cheese over it and cover with the rest, pressing down firmly.
  4. Bake at 190C for 35 to 40 minutes until deep golden.
  5. Turn out onto a plate, pour over the cooled syrup while the kunafa is hot and scatter with pistachios. Serve at once.

Tip from the editors. Pour cool syrup over the hot kunafa so the crust stays crisp, and serve straight away while the cheese is still stretchy.

Where to eat kunafa

Kunafa in Abu Dhabi

Naeem Sweets ★ 4.3

$ BakeryKunafa and Arabic sweetsAl Mina

Naeem Sweets at Marsa Mina, Abu Dhabi, is the kunafa shop of a Jordanian maker who opened on Hamdan Street in 1974 and reopened here at the age of seventy.

Worth the queueKunafa

TipGulf News says the owner still comes in at 15:00 every day and stays until 21:00, and the shop uses ingredients from Denmark and the Balkans.

Directions

Al Aqssa Sweets ★ 4.2

$ BakeryPalestinian sweets and kunafaAl Zahiyah

Al Aqssa Sweets on Salam Street in the Tourist Club area of Abu Dhabi has sold kunafa, baklava and basbousa since 1980, open daily from 09:00 to midnight.

Worth the queueKunafa with cheese or cream

TipGulf News notes a second branch in Khalidiya; this listing is the Salam Street shop in the Tourist Club area that opened in 1980.

Directions

Tripoli Sweets ★ 4.3

$ BakeryLebanese sweets and kunafaAl Khalidiya

Tripoli Sweets in Al Hisn, Abu Dhabi, makes Lebanese sweets including the Osmaleya kunafa cake, maamoul and namoura, open daily 08:00 to 22:30.

Worth the queueOsmaleya kunafa cake

TipGulf News describes the Osmaleya as a kunafa cake, two layers of crisp vermicelli around a soft centre of fresh cream or cheese.

Directions

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