Kunefe
1/2 Package Shredded Dough ~225 gr (1 package = 454 gr)
1 stick unsalted butter (125 gr = 8 tbsp = 1/2 cup), melted
2 tbsp milk
200 gr Feta cheese, unsalted - Soak in water and drain 3-4 times within 24 hours, then puree with the blender or press with a fork. You may also use unsalted Mozzarella cheese instead of Feta cheese.
Syrup:
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp Grape Molasses + 2 tbsp butter, room temperature
23 cm (9 inch) pie plate (if you like thinner Kunefe, you may use a larger dish)
To prepare the syrup; place the water and sugar in a medium sized pot. Bring to a boil and continue boiling for 5 minutes. Then simmer for about 15 minutes and turn the heat off. Add lemon juice and put aside.
Put half the package of Shredded Dough in the food processor and pulse a few times. Brush the inside of the Pyrex dish with the butter and Grape Molasses mixture. Place half of the shredded dough evenly and press on them with your palm (picture). Drizzle half of the butter&milk mixture with the brush. Spread the cheese on top evenly (picture). Then spread the second half of the shredded dough. Drizzle the rest of the butter all over the top with the brush.
Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C)*. Place the dish on the middle rack. When the top takes a light golden colour take it out of the oven. Then slide it on a plate. Brush the dish again with butter and Grape Molasses. Turn it upside down and bake the other side until it's light golden brown. Immediately pour the lukewarm syrup all over evenly.
Serve this traditional Turkish Kunefe dessert while still hot with a dollop of Turkish Kaymak** and sprinkle ground pistachios all over the top.
* If you like you can cook Kunefe over the stove over medium heat in a large pan.
** President Choice (Loblaws in Toronto) brand name has double cream (40%) in a small plastic container. It is not Turkish Kaymak but it is delicious:)
Bairam Menu:
- Spinach Soup with Cream, Elbasan Kebab, Pilaf with Sweet Peas, Shepherd's Salad and Swiss Chard Log Borek.
Labels: Dessert
25 Comments:
I have made your recipe for kaymak before and I have no problem starting this dish a day in advance...insha allah I will try this for my bairam dinner
Nesime (hamilton)
Dear Binnur,
Bayram mubarak olsun ( sorry for being a little bit late )!
Mereym
merhaba Binnur! Just discovered your site! Its wonderful- am far from home and gave me a glimps of it again! tesekurler!
hope you had a wonderful bayram - i will definitly be a regular her
lots of love
Asiye
Senin de bayramin mubarek olsun sevgili Mereym:)
Take care,
Iv just returned from a holiday in Turkey and tried Kunefe for the first time, i LOVED it and was so please to find this recipe, cant wait to try it.
Thank you so much for putting this on here
xxxxx
My granparents have there own recipe for this desert, they use ghee [indian clarified butter] instead of butter
Hi,
Clarified butter also used in Turkish cuisine includes Kunefe, Baklava etc. But my recipes are easy to follow and you can easily find the ingredients:)
Hello,
i love your site...it is my most used on my Favorites List!!
I have other recipes but always check yours for any Tips! Because of your tips, my Baklava is a huge hit with friends & family...my Turkish husband especially.
I would like to try Kunefe(it is one of his favorites). I haven't seen Shredded Dough. What can I substitute?
Melanie
Hi Melanie ,
You need shredded dough to make kunefe similar to how you need phillo pastry to make baklava:)
Sevgili Binnur,
Kunefe sanirim 375 derecede 45 dakika kadar pisiyor. Benim uc sorum olacak. Birincisi kunefeyi individual kaplarda pisirsem pisme suresinde degisiklik olur mu acaba? Mesela 4 tane 4 inch'lik. Ikinci sorum kunefenin soguk yenip yenmeyecegi, yani ilk pistiginde tamamen bitmezse. Son sorum ise seker miktarini azaltabilir miyim? Mesela 3 cup water, 1.5 cup seker gibi.
Simdiden tesekkurler.
Merhaba Deniz,
Kucuk kaplarda daha kisa surede pisiyor.
Kalan kunefeyi yemeden once firinda isitiyorum. Firini onceden isitmayi unutma:)
Kullandigim seker miktari 1 1/2 kap, su miktarina esit. Sen su muktarini arttirmak istersen serbet oldukca sulu olur. Su miktarini ayni tutup, seker miktarini biraz azaltmak istersen, sen bilirsin!
Sevgilerimle,
Thank You Binnur, your recipes make me so happy!
Do you think I could use finely sliced phillo to replace the shredded dough? Or would it be too thin?
I live in a tiny American mountain town, far from any decent Turkish shops.
Hi Tim,
Thank you:) It would be too thin to use finely sliced phillo to make Kunefe:) I may suggest you to search tulumba.com which is located in New York. It is a on line Turkish store. I've found lKunefe dough (tel kadayif) for you, here is the address;
http://www.tulumba.com/icy_srch.asp?ops=s&x=&tag=&s=tel+kadayif
Hello, I have recently traveled to Turkiye and Kunefe is my favorite treat. I am wondering if when i go to the resturants if they are using feta cheese or mozzerlla or ricotta .. i want mine to taste similar to it. I belive resturant is Hatay Kunefe
Hi,
Kunefe belongs to Hatay region. Cheese should be made from raw milk and should be fresh. They use traditionally Hatay cheese. But Antep cheese or Lor (Riccotto) chesse also can be used.
hi Binnur
i red recipes for kunefe but they don't mix butter with milk so what it is usefall for ?
thank u
Candy
Hi Candy,
Every body has a different taste. This is what I like the most. For me, milk adds a better taste. It is like the difference between making bread with milk or with water:)
Hi Binnur, I am a Turk living in Australia and love your cookbook! Do you have a recipe for Lokma? Been craving it recently!! :))
Hi,
I may post it in the future:)
Dear Binnur,
I've been wanting to make turkish kunefe but I live in US and I searched a lot and still can not find either unsalted feta cheese or mozzarella cheese (they all have added salt). Would any other cheese work for this recipe, for example riccota cheese? Thank you for your input.
Ela
Hi Ela,
I've never used ricotta cheese to make Kunefe, it may work.
When you soak Feta cheese into the spring water for a day all the salt will be gone:) So give it a try please:)
You can use fresh Mozzarella cheese which is unsalted, too.
hi Binnur. i am going to try this, but i have a question about the packaged shredded dough. is it the same thing as shredded fillo dough kataifi sold in Turkish stores? thanks a lot in advance.
Hi,
Since I do not live in Turkey, I am not sure about what they sell in Turkish stores. You should look for the package that says “shredded dough” (tel kadayif). It may also have been baked already in which case it just needs the syrup to soak:)
Hi Binnur and thanks for the reply. actually i am buying the shredded dough from an online Turkish store in the U.S. so, could you please tell me which is the right dough to buy? is it number one :
http://www.yiyelim.com/searchresults.cfm?searchcategory=&searchkeyword=tel+kadayif&image.x=14&image.y=11
or number two:
http://www.yiyelim.com/productdetail.cfm?pid=323003&reference=%2Fcategory.cfm%3Fcat%3D10%26subcat%3D1005%26sort%3D1
i hope you don't mind me suggesting that you explain in the recipe that regular feta cheese can be used to make this dish because soaking it for 24 hours gets rid if the salt. many people don't know this and just can not find unsalted feta.
as always thanks a lot for your help. i really appreciate it. :)
Hi,
Thank you:) There is no image in the second link so I cannot comment:) The first image (Alkış Dökme Tel Kadayıf) is unbaked shredded dough which is the right one.
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