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Palestinian · Levantine

Knafeh

Vegetarian

كنافة · kunāfa

Buttery shredded pastry baked around a layer of melting white cheese until crisp and golden, then drenched in orange-blossom syrup and scattered with pistachios.

Knafeh is a Palestinian dessert, ready in about 1 hour 20 minutes and made with kataifi (shredded filo) pastry and mozzarella. It serves 8 and is rated advanced to cook.

Start cooking
Appetizing Turkish kunefe dessert served on a red checkered cloth, showcasing a classic Middle Eastern sweet.
Photo: Mavi Yıldız Restoran Cumalıkızık Bursa / Pexels · Pexels License
Prep
25 min
Cook
45 min
Rest
10 min
Total
1 h 20 min
Serves
8
Level
Advanced
Calories
436

Ingredients

8 servings

Syrup

Pastry

Cheese

To finish

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Make the syrup: boil the sugar (opens in a new tab), water and lemon juice (opens in a new tab) for 8 minutes until slightly thickened. Stir in the orange-blossom water and let it cool.

    Cool syrup on hot pastry keeps it crisp.

  2. Step 2

    Heat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 190 °C. Pull the kataifi apart with your fingers and chop it into 2–3 cm lengths, then rub in the melted butter (opens in a new tab) until every strand is coated.

    • 8 min
    • 190°C

  3. Step 3

    Mix the mozzarella (opens in a new tab) and ricotta (opens in a new tab). Press half the pastry firmly into a 25 cm round tin, spread the cheese over it leaving a 1 cm border, then cover with the rest of the pastry and press down.

  4. Step 4

    Bake until the pastry is deep golden underneath and the cheese melted.

  5. Step 5

    Turn out onto a platter so the golden base is on top. Pour over the cool syrup, scatter with pistachios (opens in a new tab) and serve warm while the cheese is still stretchy.

    • 2 min
    Fresh herbs scattered over a finished dish
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Nablus, Palestine · Origin disputedVersions are made across the Levant, Türkiye (künefe) and Egypt; the cheese-filled style is most strongly associated with Nablus.Also popular in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Türkiye, EgyptMore food from Palestine
Dish
Dessert · Desserts · Pastries
Cooking method
Oven-baked, Simmered
Taste
sweet, buttery, creamy, aromatic / warmly spiced
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo)
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Egg-free · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Festive & celebration
Cook more with
Mozzarella · Sugar · Lemon juice · Orange blossom water · Butter · Ricotta
Techniques
Baking · Simmering

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom butter, mozzarella, ricotta
  • Contains: Tree nutsfrom pistachios
  • Contains: Wheatfrom kataifi (shredded filo) pastry
  • Contains: Glutenfrom kataifi (shredded filo) pastry

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

436 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 147 g · recipe makes 8

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 10%
  • Carbohydrate 41%
  • Fat 50%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy436 kcal297 kcal
Protein10.5 g7.2 g
Carbohydrate44.9 g30.6 g
Net carbohydrate43.9 g29.9 g
Sugars25.4 g17.3 g
Added sugars25 g17 g
Fibre1 g0.7 g
Fat24.3 g16.6 g
Saturated fat13.8 g9.4 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol66 mg45 mg
Sodium401 mg273 mg
Salt equivalent1 g0.7 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
140 mg
Calcium
191 mg
Iron
1.3 mg
Magnesium
20 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
183 µg
Vitamin C
0 mg
Vitamin D
0.2 µg
Vitamin B12
0.8 µg
Folate (DFE)
48 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Orange blossom water: Water (FDC 174158); orange flower water is a distillate with negligible nutrients.
  • Kataifi (shredded filo) pastry: Filo dough used as a stand-in; kataifi is the same flour-and-water dough extruded into fine threads.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Common mistakes

  • Underbaking — pale knafeh is soft rather than crisp.

Serve with

  • Serve warm in squares or wedges with Arabic coffee or tea.

Storage

  • Best on the day; leftovers keep 2 days in the fridge.

Reheating

  • Reheat in a 180 °C oven for 10 minutes until the cheese softens again.

Variations

  • Künefe (Türkiye): The Turkish version from Hatay is made in small individual pans with unsalted cheese.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

The body of the dish

Syrup

Used in step 1

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

  1. Mix and knead · about 25 min

    Knead until smooth and soft; it should feel like an earlobe.

  2. Rest · about 10 min

    Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.

  3. Bake · about 35 min at 190 °C

    Puffed with golden-brown spots on both sides.

  4. Start to finish: about 1 h 10 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

If something goes wrong

  • Pale crust

    Likely causes

    • Oven too cool
    • Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
    • Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)

    What to do

    • Check the oven with a thermometer
    • Brush with egg wash or milk
    • Shorten the fermentation
  • Burnt bottom

    Likely causes

    • Tray too close to the heat
    • Dark tray absorbs more heat
    • Too much sugar in the dough

    What to do

    • Bake on the middle shelf
    • Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
    • Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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