Pistachio Kunafa Parfait
I consider this Kunafa Parfait to be one of the greatest innovations in modern Middle Eastern cuisine. Crispy kunafa is layered with luscious whipped cream and your choice of sweet toppings or fruit to deliver a knockout combination. Every spoonful hits that sweet spot of texture contrast and decadent flavour, and because you can theme the topping to whatever you like, this dessert works for any crowd or any occasion. What makes the story even better is how this Kunafa Parfait changed the face of Middle Eastern desserts forever.
The story of Kunafa Parfait
First appearing in Cairo around Ramadan 2010, from one of the city’s most exclusive patisseries, it was a genuine innovation. Kunafa had been used in Middle Eastern desserts for hundreds of years, always as a structural element. A pastry to wrap or provide a base to other elements. Like in desserts such as Osmanly; a traybake which sandwiches a single layer of dense cream between two layers of compacted kunafa, or in specific forms of Baklava. Until 2010 no one had thought to deconstruct Osmanly into a Kunafa Parfait. But here Kunafa was being given a sacrilegious treatment. Instead of being shaped to stick to itself, it is turned into individual crispy threads, then layered with cream.
The timing of its emergence was no coincidence. Ramadan in Egypt comes with its own culture, and part of that is visiting family and friends to break your fast. Part of being a good guest is bringing something for the table, most commonly a dessert. So every year there was intense competition between the pastry shops to create new seasonal desserts; often twists on baklava like desserts. But the stars aligned this time. Ramadan landed during Egypt’s peak mango season when food social media had just come into its prime. When mango became the parfait’s first topping, there was no stopping it from becoming the hottest food trend of the year.
Not everyone was on board, though. Older generations at the time saw it as something close to sacrilege, dressing up heritage desserts and techniques in French patisserie techniques. That tension didn’t stop it. If anything, being the new taboo on the block only made it more popular. It went from one shop’s experiment to the dessert everyone in Cairo was trying to get their hands on. The following year, every major pastry shop in the city was making its own version, and they haven’t stopped since.
The evolution of Kunafa Parfait
As Ramadan shifts earlier through the calendar every year, it kept landing in different season. The shops innovating on this dessert treated that as an opportunity to experiment. Strawberries, red velvet, biscoff and later pistachio versions followed as the fruit and flavours in season, or just trending, changed. In 2021, an Egyptian dessert chain called B.Laban launched in Alexandria which built its whole identity around this style of layered parfait. They paired kunafa with other classic Middle Eastern desserts, and unique toppings. It’s since become one of the biggest dessert brands to come out of the Middle East. By 2024, the influence went global. Dubai chocolate, created by an Egyptian chocolate house in Dubai, was directly inspired by this same dessert.
Why this recipe works
- Toasting shredded kunafa in clarified butter with powdered sugar results in evenly golden, crunchy threads of pastry that hold their texture against cream for hours.
- Mascarpone cream whipped to soft peaks gives you a spreadable, pipeable cream that stays light and doesn’t weep overly when layered.
- The modular structure of this Kunafa Parfait allows you to prep once and assemble on demand. You can customise it with any toppings and scale it from individual servings to a full trifle bowl.
Ingredient overview
Kunafa is a form of thread like pastry common to Middle Eastern and Mediterannean cuisines. It’s often sold frozen in speciality grocery stores as a solid block or pre-chopped loose threads, and labeled as Kunafa, Konafa, Kataifi or Kadayif. The pastry is often used as whole long strands, however for this dessert it must be chopped small (around 1cm or less) so it toasts evenly.
To toast Kunafa we use clarified butter. Unlike shortcrust or puff pastry, Kunafa doesn’t contain any fat and so fat must be added for it to crisp up and gain colour. Regular butter contains milk solids that will scorch the konafa during toasting. To avoid that, melt some butter, bring to a boil then remove from the heat, wait for it to separate, then pour only the yellow fat onto your konafa while discarding the white liquid.
The cream layer in this recipe is a simple mascarpone whipped cream. We like to use this for the rich mouthfeel of the mascarpone, however it’s not a pure requirement for this dish. You can make your own favourite whipped cream, or even use instant Chantilly cream. The only requirement for your cream is that it must be stabilised in some way so it doesn’t split or weep.
For toppings you can absolutely go wild and use any fruit, nut spread, or ganache based topping. This recipe shows both Mango chunks and Pistachio creme in play.
Toasting Kunafa
Starting with a semi defrosted block of kunafa pastry, slice into pieces shorter than a centimeter (less than a quarter of an inch) in size. Smaller pieces are easier to toss and cook more evenly.
Kunafa has a tendency to form clumps when packaged. These clumps don’t cook well since fat can’t get to all the individual threads. To solve this, break apart any large clots of kunafa where strands have stuck together to seperate the threads, and cut any long threads down to a manageable size.
Your sliced kunafa should resemble a pile of fine short threads before you begin cooking.
Melt some butter in a microwave or pot, until it splits into yellow butter fat and white milk. Pour only the yellow clarified butter into a sauté pan, leaving out the white milky part. Transfer the kunafa to the pan with the clarified butter. Add powdered sugar and cook on medium-high heat .
Using a spatula, stir and toast the kunafa, distributing the fat evenly. Cook until all the kunafa is toasted to a deep golden color and perfect crisp, about 20-30 minutes.
Turn off the heat and immediately transfer the kunafa to a tray, spreading it out to cool completely. Once it has cooled you can transfer to a bowl or store in an air tight container. Toasted kunafa will keep for a few weeks in a cool dry place.
Mascarpone Whipped Cream
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the mascarpone and sugar. Mix on low speed for a couple of minutes until the mascarpone resembles whipped cream cheese. Add the heavy cream, mix for 8 to 10 minutes until soft peaks form.
Mango Topping
Wash mangoes thoroughly, then use any technique to remove the flesh from the skin and stone. My preferred method involves cutting off each of the mango cheeks by, slicing down on either side of the flat central seed. Score each cheek into cubes or strips without cutting through the skin. Using a thin walled glass or container, push the mango flesh downwards against the rim of the glass to separate the flesh from the skin and release the cubes into the glass. Then take some mango cubes, and blend until smooth to create a mango puree for layering.
Pistachio Topping
For the pistachio topping, I recommend buying premade pistachio crème from the store. You can soften it in the microwave for 1 minute, or warm it in a water bath. It should become easily spreadable to dollop into your serving dish.
Dessert Assembly
Toasted Kunafa will eventually soften when layered with the cream, so I recommend assembling shortly before serving, unless you are using a heavily stabilised cream. The process is the same whether you’re making individual portions or serving this family style. Place a layer of toasted kunafa into the bottom of your serving vessel. Dollop or pipe a layer of cream over the kunafa, then cover with a layer of your topping. For the mango, I do some mango chunks then some puree. Repeat the process at least once more to create a total of 6 layers.
Keep chilled and serve on the same day.
Pistachio Kunafa Parfait
Ingredients
For the toasted kunafa
- 400 g kunafa pastry
- 60 g clarified butter (from 80 grams butter)
- 30 g powdered sugar
For the mascarpone whipped cream
- 250 g mascarpone
- 600 g heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
For the mango topping
- 1 ½ kg mango (or 1 kg mango chunks)
For the pistachio topping
- 400 g pistachio crème
Instructions
Prepare the toasted kunafa
- Slice the Kunafa into strands about 1 cm in length (less than a quarter of an inch). Break apart any clots of kunafa.400 g kunafa pastry
- Melt the butter until it splits into yellow butter fat and white milk. Pour only the yellow clarified butter into a sauté pan, discarding the milky part.60 g clarified butter
- Transfer the kunafa to the pan, add the powdered sugar, and cook on medium-high heat.30 g powdered sugar
- Using a spatula, stir the kunafa continuously for about 20-30 minutes, until all the kunafa is equally colored and the strands are toasted and golden. Immediately transfer the kunafa to a tray, and spread out to cool completely.
Make the mascarpone whipped cream
- In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the mascarpone and sugar. Mix on low speed for a couple of minutes until the mascarpone resembles the soft cream cheese.250 g mascarpone, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- Add the heavy cream. Mix for 8 to 10 minutes until you achieve soft peaks, stopping partway through to scrape down the sides of the bowl.600 g heavy cream
Prepare the mango
- Wash the mangoes. Then slice the flesh into chunks. Blend a few chunks into a puree.1 ½ kg mango
Prepare the pistachio topping
- Soften the pistachio crème in a microwave for about 1 minute on low heat, or in a water bath.400 g pistachio crème
Assembly
- Place a layer of toasted kunafa into the bottom of your serving dish. Pipe or dollop a layer of cream over the kunafa.
- Add a layer of topping. For the mango, use some cubes and top with puree.
- Repeat, adding another layer of kunafa, another layer of cream, and one more layer of your topping
