Knafeh

Serves: 12 servings
Time to prepare: 1h

Ingredients
For the Kunafa

• 450g of Knafeh dough (this is shredded phyllo dough that you buy ready-made)
• 1 cup of melted butter
• 600g of mozzarella cheese
• 170ml thick cream
• ½ cup of crushed pistachios to garnish

For the Syrup

• 2 ½ cups of sugar
• ½ teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 ¼ cup water
• 1 tablespoon rose water

Instructions
For the Syrup

• In a medium saucepan, combine the water, sugar and lemon and place on high heat allowing it to come to a boil.
• Once it boils, lower heat to medium and allow it to simmer for 10 minutes then turn off the heat. It should have a runny syrup consistency (not too thick, not too thin). Add the tablespoon of rose water at the end and allow it to cool to room temperature on the side.

For the Kunafa

• Take out the frozen Kunafa dough and leave it to that for an hour or so and meanwhile preheat your oven to 180°C.
• Shred the cheese or cut it up into small cubes and mix it with the thick cream.
• Break up the kunafa dough and place it in a food processor. Whiz it for a few seconds until it is broken up into small pieces. If you don’t own a food processor, you can do this with your hands or by cutting it up using a knife.
• Place the shredded dough in a bowl and pour over the melted butter. Using your hands, massage the butter into the dough making sure you saturate every strand. The better you incorporate it, the more evenly crispy it will be.
• Brush the bottom of your pan with a bit of butter. Use a 12-inch pan for one large one or 2 smaller ones.
• Take half of the dough and pack it into the bottom of the pan using the flat bottom of a cup. Pack it to form a slight edge around the perimeter.
• Spoon the cheese mixture inside and spread it out evenly.
• Take the remaining dough and spread it over the cheese, covering it all and packing it in lightly.
• Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the outside is deeply golden and crispy.
• Immediately drizzle the kunafa with about ¾ of the simple syrup, ensuring you cover the full surface. Reserve some of the syrup for anyone who wants to add on extra.
• Allow it to cool and soak the syrup for about 10 minutes or so, then invert it onto a serving platter (you can also keep it in the tray if you prefer), garnish with pistachios and you are ready to eat!