Baked Rice Pudding
Creamy milk-and-rice pudding with an unevenly browned top, chilled in individual oven-safe bowls.
Hatay style
Last updated:
Last updated:
Kunafa
Künefe
Crisp buttered kadayıf surrounding melting unsalted cheese, finished with syrup and pistachios.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Rest
- 2 min
- Total
- 1 hr 2 min
- Servings
- 8
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (300 g) Sugar
- 1 ¼ cups Water
- 1 tsp Lemon juice
- ¾ lb Kadayıf pastry (fresh strands)
- 1 ½ sticks (180 g) Butter (unsalted), melted, including pan greasing
- 10 oz Cheese (unsalted künefe type), drained and torn
- 3 tbsp Pistachios (unsalted), crushed
Method
Simmer sugar and water 10 minutes, stir in lemon and set aside until cool, 30 minutes.
Separate and shorten the strands. Reserve a little butter for a 12-inch hob-safe shallow pan and work the rest through the pastry. Press half firmly into the pan, distribute cheese leaving a narrow border, then press remaining pastry over it.
Cook over medium-low heat, moving the pan to brown evenly, 10–15 minutes. Turn off the heat. With dry oven gloves, invert carefully onto a larger heatproof plate, slide back and cook the second side until golden and the cheese melts. Do not invert over a lit flame.
Pour cool syrup gradually over hot künefe. Rest 2 minutes, sprinkle pistachios and serve immediately.
Cooking guidance
Choose unsalted cheese made for künefe. To make a vegetarian version, verify that the cheese uses suitable microbial or vegetarian rennet. The broad stovetop pan must be hob-safe and handled with dry oven gloves.
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