Konafa

Ingredients

Pastry

• 500 gkataifi shredded pastry, thawed
• 250 gghee or butter, melted

Cream filling

• 1 litrewhole milk
• 80 gcornflour
• 80 gsugar
• 200 mldouble cream
• 1 tsprose water

Syrup

• 500 gsugar
• 300 mlwater
• 1 tsplemon juice
• 1 tbsprose water
• 1 tsporange blossom water

To finish

• 100 gground pistachios

Directions

1. Make the syrup first and let it go completely cold. Boil the sugar, water and lemon juice for 8 minutes, cool it, then add the flower waters.
2. Hot pastry into cold syrup. That temperature difference is what lets the syrup soak in while the pastry stays crisp, and getting it the other way round gives a soggy tray.
3. Thaw the kataifi fully and pull the strands apart with your fingers until they are loose and fluffy.
4. Separate the strands properly, handful by handful. Clumped kataifi bakes into solid pads with raw pastry inside.
5. Pour the melted ghee over and work it through with your hands until every strand is coated and glistening.
6. Use all the ghee and rub it in thoroughly. Dry patches stay pale and chewy while the buttered parts go golden.
7. For the filling, whisk the cornflour into a little cold milk, then add the rest of the milk and the sugar.
8. Cook it over a medium heat, stirring constantly, until very thick, then beat in the cream and rose water and cool it.
9. Make the filling stiffer than seems right. It softens with the heat of the oven and a loose cream runs out of the sides.
10. Press half the buttered kataifi firmly into a shallow tray, compacting it into an even base.
11. Spread the cooled cream over, leaving a small margin at the edges.
12. Cover with the remaining kataifi and press the whole thing down hard.
13. Compact both layers properly. Loosely packed konafa falls apart when cut and never develops the crisp base it is judged on.
14. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 40 to 45 minutes, until deep golden brown on top.
15. Check the underside by lifting a corner. The base is what should be darkest, and it is where the crispness comes from.
16. Take it out and pour the cold syrup evenly over the whole hot tray, listening for the hiss.
17. Let it stand 15 minutes, then scatter ground pistachio over and cut into squares or diamonds.
18. Serve warm, which is when it is at its best.
19. It is the Ramadan sweet in Egypt, sold from every patisserie through the month and eaten after iftar.

Technique

• Kataifi is filo pastry extruded into fine strands and is sold frozen in Middle Eastern shops.
• The Nabulsi version uses stretchy cheese instead of cream and is a different and equally famous dish.
• It is at its best on the day and softens by the next.

Substitutions

• Sweetened mascarpone or thick ashta in place of the cornflour cream.
• Butter in place of ghee, though ghee browns better.

Variations

• Konafa bil jibn, with sweet cheese, as in Nablus.
• With a nut filling of pistachio or walnut.
• Rolled into individual cigars rather than baked as a tray.

History

Shops spin the batter into hair-thin threads on hot rotating plates; trays of konafa fill Cairo windows through Ramadan, sold by weight after iftar.

Frequently asked questions

What is Konafa?

Konafa is a dessert from Egypt: crisp shredded pastry with cream or nuts, drowned in syrup; Ramadan star. Shops spin the batter into hair-thin threads on hot rotating plates; trays of konafa fill Cairo windows through Ramadan, sold by weight after iftar.

How long does Konafa take to make?

Konafa takes 30 min of preparation and 45 min of cooking. The recipe makes 1 large tray. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Konafa?

Yes, within limits. Sweetened mascarpone or thick ashta in place of the cornflour cream. Butter in place of ghee, though ghee browns better.

What is the most important thing to get right in Konafa?

Cover with the remaining kataifi and press the whole thing down hard.