Knefe (kunafa, kenafa, knafeh) is a Middle Eastern dessert that’s loved world wide. It is a layered dessert consisting of a pastry layer and a cheese or cream layer. You can think of knefe as a family of desserts that are interpreted a little differently depending on the region you visit. In Lebanon, if you order knefe, you’re usually going to end up with a velvety cheese dessert layered with a fine pastry dough. This knefe uses a dough called farkit knefe, a dough that can not be home made, much like phyllo dough and kataifi (shredded phyllo dough) it is made in specialty factories and can only be store bought.
kataifi dough is used in many Lebanese dessert, layered or stuffed and covered with simple syrup. It can be found fresh at some specialty Lebanese bakeries but you will have the most luck finding it in the freezer section of a most middle eastern grocery stores.
When working with kataifi dough you will notice that it dries out very quickly when left exposed, so always keep portions you’re not working with covered to keep it from going brittle.
After recipe testing quite a few variations to get a home made knefe dough, we think we have found one you will truly enjoy. It will not be as fine of a dough as the original farkit knefe but we believe it comes pretty close!
How to make fine knefe dough
Ingredients
- 500 g Kataifi dough
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup Atyr – Simple Syrup
Instructions
- Cut or break kataifi dough strands down so smaller pieces.
- Place dough in blender and pulse until fine.
- With blender running drizzle in melted butter and syrup until all are combined.
- Empty content into pan; position on stove at medium heat and continuously stir dough for five minutes to dry out slightly.
- let cool and store in airtight container in freezer or use immediately to make knefe.