How to Make Cheese Kunafa

Ingredients

• Ingredients for homemade kunafa frik:
• 1 cup fark flour
• 1/2 cup coarse semolina
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons powdered milk
• 1/2 cup ghee or butter
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup orange blossom water and rose water
• Ingredients for cheese kunafa:
• 750 grams kunafa frik
• 1/2 kilogram Czech cheese suitable for kunafa
• 1/2 kilogram mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup fine semolina
• 2 tablespoons orange blossom water
• Method for preparing the kunafa:
• Soak the Czech cheese in water the night before preparing the kunafa
• Change the cheese water several times to remove excess salt
• The next day place the cheese in a sieve and then into a pot on the stove with 1 cup of water

Method

1. Mix these ingredients well, then spread the mixture into a large baking tray.
2. Place the tray in a preheated oven on the middle rack.
3. Bake with heat from the bottom for 10 minutes, then from the top for 5 minutes.
   Timers: 10 min, 5 min
4. When the kunafa frik dries, remove it from the oven and let it cool. Crumble it by hand, then pulse in a food processor until very fine to obtain a smooth kunafa frik.
5. Stir in the fine semolina and mix well.
6. When the cheese begins to take on a stringy, elastic texture as you lift it, add the orange blossom water and continue stirring.
7. When the cheese turns into a cream-like mixture, remove from the heat.
8. With the kunafa frik prepared in advance, pour the cheese mixture over the frik and place in a preheated oven for 10 minutes.
   Timers: 10 min
9. Transfer the kunafa to a larger tray, immediately pour over sugar syrup (qatr/shira), and garnish with ground pistachios.
10. Recipe and preparation method for cheese kunafa shared by a friend of Sho Tabkhin Al-Youm website.
11. Nisrine Hamdani
12. Tip: If using ready-made frik, rub it gently with a little ghee. For assembly, brush the bottom of the pan with ghee (about 2 tbsp) and mix a little ghee into the frik to help it bind. Spread gently into the pan with light pressure and bake in the center of the oven at medium heat for about 45 minutes, until browned underneath and at the edges.
    Timers: 45 min