Knefah Kazebe – A Classic Lebanese Dessert
You may know of the traditional Knefah, a delicious dessert made with semolina and sweet cheese, a popular dessert in both Lebanon and Palestine. Knefah kazebe aka “Fake” or “Cheats” knefah is a short cut way to make the traditional dessert. Instead of using semolina for the topping and sweet cheese for the filling, we use cornflakes and mozzarella cheese.
Knefah Kazeb
A classic Lebanese dessert that is a "cheats" version of traditional Knefah.
Equipment
- 1 food processor you could use a blender or crush the cornflakes in a plastic bag
Ingredients
Cornflake Crust
- 8 cups plain corn flake cereal
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter or ghee
- 1 tbsp sugar
Knefah Filling
- 4.5 cups whole milk
- 2.5 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup fine semolina
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 1 lb shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 tbsp rose water
- 1 tbsp orange blossom water
Ater (Simple Syrup)
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 squeeze lemon juice
- 1 tbsp rose water
Topping
- crushed pistachios
- rose petals (optional)
Instructions
Cornflake Topping
- In a food processor or blender, crush the cornflakes with sugar. I like to keep mine on the chunkier side.
- Add melted butter and pulse until combined.
- Set aside while you work on the filling.
Filling
- Combine the milk, sugar, heavy cream, semolina, and cornstarch. Mix well.
- Place it on the stove to heat up while you shred your mozzarella cheese.
- Add the rose and orange blossom water and the cheese.
- Once everything is heated through and stretchy, remove from the heat.
Atar
- Combine the water, sugar, lemon juice, and rose water in a pot.
- Simmer on a medium-high for 8-10 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Assembly
- Add a layer of cornflakes to the bottom of a baking dish.
- Press slightly to form a base
- Next, pour the filling and then top with more cornflakes.
- Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes.
Serve
- I like to serve this dessert immediately so that its still warm.
- Top with pistachios and rose petals.
- Add the atar (simple syrup) on each serving depending on how sweet you would like your knefah to be.
Notes
Atar tips:
Atar can be tricky to make at first because it could crystalize. Add the ingredients and just allow it to simmer without playing with it too much. No need to brush down the sides or anything, allow it to simmer for the 8-10 minutes and it should come together! The lemon will help it not crystalize.
Salam, what pan size i can use for this recipe? Looks good im so excited to give it a try 🥰
Salam! I used a 9 x 13, but had extra left over! You could go bigger to use up the entire filling or keep the extra to snack on!