Middle Eastern · Dessert
High-Protein Knafeh Cake
A protein-boosted take on knafeh, the Middle Eastern shredded-pastry cake, built with a semolina crumb base and lid wrapped around a smooth whey-and-cottage-cheese filling, finished with citrus-lemon syrup and crushed pistachio.
$1
20 minsPrep
27 minsCook
57 minsTotal
MediumLevel
Nutrition per serving
238Calories
18.8gProtein
6.5gFat
26.4gCarbs
8.7gSugar
1.3gFiber
249mgSodium
16mgChol
3gSat Fat
164mgPotassium
94mgCalcium
0.7mgIron
0.3mcgVitamin B12
2.3mgVitamin C
0gPolyol
0gAllulose
0gAlcohol
Goes well with
Belgian Tripel Ale
local
Arabic Coffee (Qahwa)
international
vegetarian
sweet-spot
Instructions
1
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and lightly butter a 10cm/4 inch round cake tin.
2
Toss the semolina and flour together in a bowl, then drizzle the melted butter through it, rubbing with your fingers until the mixture looks like fine shredded pastry crumbs.
3
Press half of the buttered semolina mixture firmly into the base of the tin to form an even bottom layer.
4
Blend the drained cottage cheese until completely smooth, then whisk in the whey protein isolate and egg white until the filling is thick and lump-free.
5
Spread the cheese filling evenly over the base layer, then scatter the remaining semolina mixture over the top, pressing down gently so it holds together.
6
Bake for 25-28 minutes until the top is golden and the filling is just set with no wobble in the centre.
7
While the cake bakes, simmer the sugar and water together for 4-5 minutes until syrupy, then stir in the lemon juice and orange zest and let cool slightly.
8
As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, spoon the warm syrup evenly over the surface so it soaks in.
9
Scatter the crushed pistachio over the top and leave to cool to room temperature before slicing into 2 pieces.
Serves
2 portions ·
2 adults, 0 over 10, 0 under 10
Ingredients
- 1.2 oz35g dry, for shredded dough base semolina
- 0.4 oz10g mixed with semolina for pastry crumb all purpose flour
- 0.3 oz8g melted, brushed thin over shredded dough butter
- 3.2 oz90g drained, blended smooth cottage cheese lowfat
- 0.7 oz20g unflavoured, whisked into cheese filling whey protein isolate
- 3/43/4 egg whites, whisked in to firm the filling on baking (25g)
- 0.4 oz12g dissolved into the syrup sugar white
- 0.7 oz20g simmered with sugar for syrup water
- 0.1 oz4g added to syrup to stop crystallising lemon juice
- 0.2 oz5g zest only, stirred into syrup orange
- 0.3 oz8g finely crushed, scattered on top pistachio
