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Künefe (Turkish Cheese & Shredded-Pastry Dessert)

A gorgeous Middle Eastern dessert—every secret revealed! Künefe is the kind of dessert that's lavish, dazzling, very sweet, and full of character, yet it's not at all hard to make—provided you have the ingredients. You'll need kataifi (shredded phyllo) dough, unsalted pistachios, and the right cheese. The butter, too, must be top quality and fresh.

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Kunefe
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Composition / ingredients

Servings:
Translation table of volumetric measures
Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe
By weight of the composition:
Proteins 14 % 8 g
Fats 24 % 14 g
Carbohydrates 63 % 37 g
307 kcal
GI: 57 / 0 / 43
  • To make this delicious Middle Eastern dessert, you'll need kataifi dough—fine threads of unleavened pastry that look like shredded wheat. You'll usually find it at larger markets, or you can order it online. Prep the rest of the ingredients too: melt the butter in the microwave or on the stovetop, and chop the unsalted pistachios. Grate or thinly slice the mozzarella (goat cheese is ideal, but not always available); whatever you use, it shouldn't be a salty brined cheese. Squeeze the juice from a washed lemon. Now preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and start assembling. You'll want a baking dish—a round one is best. The finished dessert will be about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches (3–4 cm) tall, so the dish should be fairly large. Brush it generously with butter—don't be shy. Lay down a layer of dough, which you can cut into pieces or crumble; the layer should be about 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick. Brush it generously with butter and scatter on grated cheese (or lay down a layer of cheese slices). Top with another dough layer of the same thickness, brush with melted butter, add more cheese, then more dough. Keep layering until you reach about 1 1/2 inches (4 cm)—no taller, or it may not bake through. Finish with a dough layer, smoothing and gently pressing it flat with your hand. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, until nicely golden. While it bakes, make the syrup: pour the water into a small saucepan over high heat. When it boils, add the sugar and a pinch of saffron (optional, but it gives the syrup a lovely color). Lower the heat and stir until every sugar crystal dissolves, then add the lemon juice and simmer for 15 minutes. When the künefe is baked, take it out and pour the hot syrup over the top. Important: don't dump all the syrup on at once—the dessert should be soaked through but not swimming in it. Sprinkle with the chopped pistachios and serve while it's still warm. It's wonderful—and even better with a scoop of ice cream. Enjoy!

Caloric content of the products possible in the composition of the dish

  • Lemon - 16  kcal/100g
  • Lemon zest - 47  kcal/100g
  • Saffron - 310  kcal/100g
  • Granulated sugar - 398  kcal/100g
  • Sugar - 398  kcal/100g
  • Butter 82% - 734  kcal/100g
  • Amateur unsalted butter - 709  kcal/100g
  • Unsalted peasant butter - 661  kcal/100g
  • Peasant salted butter - 652  kcal/100g
  • Melted butter - 869  kcal/100g
  • Raw California Walnut - 629  kcal/100g
  • Pistachios - 638  kcal/100g
  • Water - 0  kcal/100g
  • Mozzarella - 280  kcal/100g
  • Dough - 289  kcal/100g

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