Today I'll be showing you how to make Egyptian Cream Filled Konafa (كنافة بالكريمة), a classic dessert served during Ramadan. This dessert has a layer of mastic cream between two layers of crispy golden Konafa. I'm Obi from Middle Eats and I'm on a mission to show you how to cook delicious food from across the whole of the Middle East.

This recipe is adapted from Cleobuttera's Classic Cream filled Konafa:
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Ingredients:
400g Konafa (usually called Kadaifi and sold frozen in Europe and the US, you can find it in Greek and Turkish supermarkets)
180g ghee or 250g unsalted butter

Syrup:
250g sugar
150ml water
1tsp vanillin or vanilla sugar (you can use vanilla extract but it will darken syrup)
Squeeze of lemon

Cream Filling:
600g heavy cream
3tbsp cornflour
3tbsp sugar
2 small pieces of mastic (optional)

To prepare the simple syrup
1. Add the sugar, water, vanilla, squeeze of lemon juice to a saucepan. If you are adding rose water or orange blossom add it now.
2. Place on a medium-high heat till it comes to a boil, don't stir so the syrup doesn't crystallise.
3. Once it boils turn the heat to low and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Pour out into a jug to cool.

To prepare the cream filling
1. Add cream, sugar and corn flour to a pot.
2. Crush your mastic and add it into the pot.
3. Mix to combine the ingredients before cooking.
4. Place the pot on a medium-high heat and whisk untill it comes to a boil.
5. The mixture will resemble custard, when this happens cook for a further minute.
6. Pour out into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap so it doesn't form a crust

To clarify the butter
1. Place butter into a small pot on a high heat and let it melt completely.
2. When it's melted, leave it to boil until a foamy layer forms then disappears.
3. There should be a thin film floating on top of the melted butter that you can separate with a spoon, when this appears pour your clarified butter out into a jug or jar

To prepare the Konafa
1. Cut the Konafa till the strands are about 1 inch or 2.5cm long then separate the individual strands from each other. If there are small clumps remaining then it's ok.
2. Scoop out the top part of your clarified butter, avoiding the milk solids formed at the bottom of your jugas best as you can. You will need 180g of the clarified butter, a little less is fine
3. Mix the konafa with the clarified butter. Working with small fractions of your konafa and butter at a time will ensure an even spread of butter to your dough.
4. Once you have your Konafa a fairly uniform shade of yellow, you’re ready to assemble.

To Assemble
1. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius (390F)
2. Prepare a 10 inch round baking dish and brush about a tablespoon of butter on the bottom and sides of the pan.
3. Begin placing Konafa in the pan, fluffing it up as you place it. You should place a layer about 1cm deep covering the entire base of the pan and the walls.
4. Using a measuring cup or a similar object press the Konafa down compacting it into the base of the pan and pressing it flat against the walls. Keep adding Konafa and compacting it till the base is uniformly thick and flat. There should be no gaps or thin spots. Add more Konafa as needed to the walls until you have used up 2/3rds of the Konafa .
5. Compact the walls all the way around, then give the cream a quick mix and pour it into the centre of the Konafa on top of the base. Spread the cream out with a spatula or spoon till it is in an even layer.
6. Fold down the dough that is pressed on the walls onto the cream mixture
7. Sprinkle your remaining Konafa on top of the cream until a thin layer has formed and the cream is no longer visible. When you have done this press it down slightly to compact the top layer using your hands. You should have an even layer throughout so add more Konafa if it is unlevel.
8. Finally push down and flatten any strands of Konafa that are poking upwards as these may burn in the oven

To Cook
1. Place the Konafa in the centre of the preheated oven for 30-45 minutes or until it is golden brown and the sides have pulled away from the walls of the pan.
2. Remove it from the oven and immediately apply the syrup, pour it down the sides of the walls first then pour the remaining syrup evenly in the centre. You should hear the syrup sizzle as it hits the pan and gets absorbed into the Konafa
3. Leave the Konafa to sit for 15 minutes before serving
4. To Serve, place a serving dish on top of the baking tray and flip the two over so your Konafa is now resting on the dish.
5. Decorate with the pistachio slices and serve.

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