Kunafa with Cream is an easy Arabic dessert, usually served during the month of Ramadan and made by layering crispy pastry and thick cream on top of each other, and drizzled with sweet syrup.
Add sugar and water to a saucepan over high heat, bring to a boil, then turn the heat down, add honey (if used) and let the mixture simmer for 5 minutes.
Add lemon juice and vanilla extract, stir well, then turn off the heat. Let the syrup cool completely.
Make the cream (Ashta)
Add sugar, cornflour, heavy cream and milk in a large saucepan or pot, stir well to combine (make sure there are no lumps at all).
Constantly whisk the mixture over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until it comes to a boil. Keep whisking until the mixture thickens. Add vanilla extract, stir and turn off the heat. Allow the cream to cool.
Preparing the Kunafa
Preheat the oven to 200C, grease a 22 cm baking pan with ghee (spread the ghee well on the bottom and sides of the pan).
Put the Kunafa dough in a large bowl, use kitchen scissors to cut it into 3-4 cm strips.
Now, pour the melted ghee over the Kunafa and mix it thoroughly.
Spread half of the Kunafa on the bottom and sides of the baking pan, press on it with your hands to have a flat layer of Kunafa.
Pour the cream (Ashta) filling on top of the Kunafa and spread it.
Cover the cream layer with the remaining Kunafa, press it down gently.
Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the top becomes golden. Take it out of the oven.
As soon as you take the pan out of the oven, pour the cooled syrup evenly over the top.
Let it sit for 10 minutes, so all the syrup is absorbed.
Sprinkle chopped pistachio on top, then cut it and serve.
Notes
Make enough syrup to drizzle over the Kunafa with Cream and to serve alongside it.
Cutting and serving a Kunafa with Cream dessert can be a tricky job. We suggest you use a knifepoint and stab to cut a triangle (as you would do with a cake) and use a cake server to pull the piece out and serve.
Recipe Variations
You can use some Ricotta in your cream to make it more rich and dense.
Some like to flavour their syrup and cream with some water, such as rose water or orange blossom water.
It's a popular tradition to add some rose petals alongside the pistachios across the Mediterranean. It makes the dessert look even more exquisite.