Knafa Bjoz

Knefeh in ka'ak

Lebanon's breakfast knefeh. Desalted Akkawi cheese under a layer of ground pastry with ghee, eaten in a sesame bun.

By Knafa Bjoz editorsPublished

Also known as: ka'ket knefeh, kaaket k'nafeh, knefeh bi kaak, كنافة بالكعك, كعكة كنافة

In Lebanon, knefeh is a sweet eaten for breakfast.[1] It is served in a sesame bun called kaakeh.[1]

What’s in it

  • Cheese. Desalted Akkawi cheese forms the bottom layer.[1]
  • Pastry. The top layer is ground kataifi pastry with ghee.[1] Anissa Helou prefers “rubbed hair pastry and not semolina like some other places”.[2]
  • Cream instead of cheese. Helou also gives a version with qashtah, Arabic clotted cream, in place of the cheese.[2]

Desalting the cheese

Helou soaks the Akkawi and changes the water “every 15 minutes or so, until the cheese has lost all trace of saltiness”.[2] She bakes the knefeh in a round dish, “the traditional shape”, about 22.5 cm across.[2]

Read more about Akkawi in our cheese guide.

Sources

  1. 1.Nadiya Ibrahim. Breakfast of Kings. Food Heritage Foundation.
  2. 2.Anissa Helou. my favourite breakfast: ka'ket k'nafeh. anissas.com.