Kanafeh Bites
Say hello to our teeny tiny Kanafeh Bites!
Growing up in a Bangladeshi household, Eid mornings always started with my mom making sweet vermicelli desserts with milk like dudh shemai and my personal favorite with lots of ghee, jorda shemai. Keeping up with the traditions, I usually make shemai every Eid, but this year I wanted to do something different.
Kanafeh is a traditional Middle Eastern dessert made with shredded filo pastry fried in butter, so in a way it resembles the Bangladeshi sweet vermicelli roasted in ghee. It is typically layered with cheese and clotted cream, then soaked in sugar-based syrup and topped with pistachio.
This by no means is an authentic recipe. It is my version of the Middle Eastern dessert, borrowing from its different variants that exist across many Arabic countries. And unlike the traditional method which requires a lot of patience and special utensils, the Kanafeh Bites are quite easy to make!
Recipe - Kanafeh Bites
Serving: 15 - 20
Note the serving size. This is a good recipe if you are hosting a party. Otherwise you want to cut this recipe by half or even less depending on how many people live in your household.
Preparing the Filo Pastry
Kataifi (Shredded Filo Dough) - 16 oz
In a large bowl, shred the kataifi into 1 inch pieces. Cutting the filo dough strands while its semi frozen, makes for the easiest way to break them. If you are using store bought frozen kataifi, make sure to follow the package direction and defrost it overnight. If using fresh kataifi, stick it in the freezer for about an hour before cutting/shredding it.
Clotted Cream - 1 cup
Pour the clotted cream evenly over the shredded filo. I learned this trick from a Turkish chef, to use clotted cream instead of butter if the filo is frozen and not fresh. Here is my clotted cream recipe. If the filo you are using is fresh or you don’t have the time to make fresh clotted cream, you may use melted butter or ghee instead.
Orange Food Coloring - 1/2 tsp
Melted Butter - 1/8 cup
The next part is tricky and depends on the type of food coloring you are using. I used food coloring gels - 1/4 tsp red food coloring and 1/4 tsp yellow food coloring to make 1/2 tsp of orange food coloring. Then I diluted the gel in a little bit of melted butter so it’s easier to mix with the shredded filo. Use your judgement to figure out how orange you want the Kanafeh to be.
Use both your hands to mix the clotted cream and food coloring evenly with the shredded filo, making sure it gets well coated and every strand is glistening.
Making the Cheese Mix
I like to use a combination of couple different types of cheese - one for flavor and the other for stretchiness. In this case akkawi brings in the slight salty flavor and mozzarella adds the stretchy-melty texture. Then there is the ashta cream which is Arabic style clotted cream, adding a little bit to mix with the cheese to makes it creamier and loosens its overall consistency.
Akkawi Cheese - 1/2 cup, shredded or cut into small pieces
Mozzarella Cheese - 1/2 cup, shredded or cut into small pieces
Ashta Cream - 1/4 cup
In a bowl, mix together the ackawai cheese, mozzarella cheese and ashta cream.
Note: Authentic Kanafeh is made with Akkawi and Nabulsia cheese in Palestine, Shelal and Majdouli cheese in Syria, Hatay, Antep, and Urfa cheese in Turkey. The quality of cheese inside is pretty significant to reach this perfection.
The thing about these Middle Eastern cheese though, is that they’re loaded with salt for preservation. It must be an unsalted melting cheese so that it complements sweetness of the dessert. If you are using any of the traditional cheese, check how salty they are. If they are salted, cut them into small pieces and soak in water, changing it every 1/2 hour, to remove all the saltiness, before making the cheese mixture.
Substitute for Arabic Cheese
If you are unable to find any of the cheese I mentioned above, mozzarella is a great substitute. Make sure it’s not pre-shredded coated with starch. Best to use fresh and good quality mozzarella.
Substitute for Ashta Cream
Ashta is Arabic-style Clotted Cream. You can also substitute it with table cream, mascarpone cheese or half as much heavy whipping cream.
Making the Simple Syrup
Sugar - 2 cups
Water - 2 cups
Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp
In a small saucepan, combine everything together and bring it to a rolling boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for another 5 minutes. The syrup will thicken slightly and have a consistency similar to Maple Syrup.
I like to do this ahead of time, like the night before and store it in the refrigerator so it’s cold when pouring it on top of hot Kanafeh, Baklava or any other dessert or drink that requires simple syrup.
Bringing it Together
Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and preheat the oven to 350 F. Heavily grease a mini muffin pan with melted butter.
Make the base layer of the Kanafeh bites by pushing a teaspoon kataifi mix into each muffin hole. Press it down firmly using a small pestle and bring the kataifi up to the sides. Now add about a teaspoon of the cheese mix into each hole. Top it off with more kataifi mix, covering it closed. Press down gently, so that it's compact and sealed. If you are using a regular size muffin pan instead of mini, increase the measurements from 1 teaspoon to 1-2 tablespoons instead.
ps. It’s okay if a little bit of cheese seeps out while baking. We thoroughly enjoyed the texture of the slightly burnt/caramelized cheese on the side.
Place the muffin pan for about 30 minutes until the top becomes golden brown. Remove from the oven and immediately drizzle the hot kanafeh with cold syrup. In a large serving tray, carefully flip over the muffin tray. The individual kanafeh should slide out.
Ground Pistachio
Vanilla Ice Cream
When serving, pour more simple syrup, garnish with lots of ground pistachio and top if off with a scoop of ice cream.
If you do recreate our recipe, be sure to
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