Muhallebili Kadayif Recipe
Toasted shredded kataifi and walnuts sandwich a chilled vanilla milk pudding. Nine generous dessert squares with a crunchy topping added just before serving.
Muhallebili kadayif pairs golden toasted pastry strands with a thick vanilla milk pudding. This original version uses a square dish, a walnut-kataifi base and a separate crunchy topping that is added after chilling. It contains no sugar syrup, banana, cookies, cheese, chocolate or whipped cream.
The vanilla layer is thickened with white cornstarch rather than eggs. Cooling it promptly before assembly keeps the pastry out of hot pudding; a four-hour refrigerator rest allows the middle to firm for portioning. The recipe makes nine generous squares and uses six illustrated steps with eight page photos. It is an formulation that has not been kitchen-tested.
Why you’ll love this recipe
Short pastry strands toast evenly when turned frequently in a wide pan. Cooling the toasted mixture before dividing it keeps the reserved topping dry. A cold milk-starch slurry reduces lumps, steady stirring prevents catching, and a brief gentle bubble cooks the starch. Adding the upper pastry layer only at serving preserves more crunch than refrigerating it directly against the pudding.
Before you start · Equipment
Kitchen scale, scissors or knife, large wide nonstick frying pan, heatproof spatula, two shallow trays, medium saucepan, whisk, shallow metal bowl, larger external ice-water bowl, 20 x 20 cm square glass dish at least 5 cm deep, food-safe cover, refrigerator thermometer and small serving spatula.
Everything you’ll need.
Get your ingredients ready, then follow the quantities in the recipe below.
See ingredient amounts
This guide describes the original 9 dessert squares. Use the recipe card for amounts adjusted to your chosen yield.
A chilled shredded-pastry dessert
The contrast is a toasted kataifi base, one thick white pudding middle and a golden kataifi top. It is a milk dessert without syrup, distinct from layered sheet-phyllo baklava and banana-cookie pudding cups.
Toast without scorching
Short strands are easier to turn evenly in a wide pan. Sugar can catch, so use a controlled heat and keep the mixture moving. Transfer the golden mixture off the hot pan immediately.
Keep the upper layer dry
The full toasted mixture is cooled before division. Store the topping half separately until the pudding has chilled; adding it at serving protects some crunch. The lower pastry will naturally soften against the milk pudding.
Stir the pudding to a gentle bubble
First whisk the starch into cold milk, then heat while stirring continuously. A further minute at a gentle bubble cooks the starch. The intended texture is thick and spoonable before cooling, firmer after chilling.
Cool in a shallow bowl
An external ice-water bath removes heat while stirring keeps the pudding smooth. No ice or bath water goes into the dessert. Clean utensils and prompt refrigeration matter for this milk-based layer.
Cut after chilling
A four-hour chill is the minimum planned rest for this untested formulation. Add the reserved topping, cut a 3 x 3 grid and lift with a small spatula. Soft edges or crumbs do not change the yield; distribute every ingredient among nine servings.
About the ingredients
- Raw kataifi
Look for fine wheat-based shredded pastry also labeled kadayif or kataifi. It is not dried vermicelli, shredded coconut, sheet phyllo, sweetened fried strands or ready-to-eat syrup-soaked kadayif. Thaw as the pack directs.
- Butter and sugar
All 70 g butter and 30 g pastry sugar stay in the toasted mixture. Use medium-low heat and turn often so the sugar does not burn before the strands dry.
- Walnuts
Use 80 g plain shelled walnuts, chopped small. They enter the pan only near the end; both halves of the pastry mixture contain walnuts. No separate walnut garnish is added.
- Milk and cornstarch
Cold pasteurized whole milk and white cornstarch form the pudding. This is a deliberately firm cornstarch formulation for a square dish, not instant pudding or a chocolate custard with chocolate omitted.
- Vanilla
All 4 g vanilla extract is stirred into the cooked pudding off heat. No cream, egg, condensed milk or whipped topping is included.
- Two equal pastry portions
Divide the cooled cooked pastry-walnut mixture by weight, not by raw ingredient weight, because toasting changes moisture. Half goes below the pudding, half stays separate until serving.
How to make Muhallebili Kadayif Recipe
Shorten and butter the raw kataifi. Toast with measured sugar, add walnuts briefly, cool and divide into equal halves by cooked weight. Whisk cold milk with sugar and cornstarch, cook until thick and gently bubbling, add vanilla off heat and cool promptly in an external ice-water bath. Press half the pastry mixture lightly into a square dish, spread over cooled pudding and refrigerate at least four hours. Add the reserved pastry topping, cut a 3 x 3 grid and serve cold.
1. Shorten and butter the kataifi
2. Toast, add walnuts and divide
3. Cook the milk pudding
4. Add vanilla and cool promptly
5. Build the base and pudding layer, then chill
6. Top, cut nine squares and serveWatch How To Make It
chefzelish.com
Muhallebili Kadayif Recipe
Toasted shredded kataifi and walnuts sandwich a chilled vanilla milk pudding. Nine generous dessert squares with a crunchy topping added just before serving.
Ingredients
0 / 8 readyIngredient amounts for 9 dessert squares
Toasted kataifi and walnuts
Vanilla milk pudding
Let’s make it.
- Toast the pastry
Shorten and butter the kataifi
Thaw the raw kataifi according to its pack before starting. Separate all 250 g strands gently, then snip or chop into roughly 1–2 cm lengths. Melt all 70 g unsalted butter gently in a wide pan over low heat; do not brown it. Add the shortened kataifi and turn until the strands are evenly coated. No extra oil or pan grease is used.
- Toast the pastry
Toast, add walnuts and divide
Scatter all 30 g pastry sugar into the pan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring and turning frequently, for about 15–20 minutes until evenly golden and dry-looking; reduce the heat if the sugar or strands catch. Add all 80 g chopped walnuts for the final 2 minutes, stirring. Transfer immediately to a shallow tray to stop cooking. Spread out and cool fully, about 15–20 minutes. Weigh the cooled cooked mixture and divide into two equal halves: one base portion and one topping portion. Keep the topping dry in a clean covered container once cool, away from the pudding.
- Pudding and layers
Cook the milk pudding
Whisk all 100 g pudding sugar with all 60 g white cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Gradually whisk in all 800 g cold milk, first a little to make a smooth slurry, then the rest. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring continuously and scraping the bottom and corners, until thick with gentle bubbles breaking through, about 10–15 minutes. Reduce the heat and stir for 1 further minute at a gentle bubble. Do not scorch the milk or stop at a merely warm liquid.
- Pudding and layers
Add vanilla and cool promptly
Remove the saucepan from heat and stir in all 4 g vanilla extract. Scrape the pudding into a clean shallow metal bowl. Stand it in a larger bowl of ice water, keeping the water below the inner bowl rim and entirely outside the food. Stir with a clean spatula until the pudding is no longer warm, about 15–20 minutes. It should remain spreadable. Refrigerate promptly if assembly is delayed; do not leave a deep warm pan cooling on the counter for hours.
- Pudding and layers
Build the base and pudding layer, then chill
Spread the base half of the cooled toasted kataifi-walnut mixture evenly in a clean 20 x 20 cm glass dish at least 5 cm deep. Press lightly with the back of a spoon without crushing it to powder. Spoon all the cooled pudding over the base in small dollops, then gently smooth to the corners. Leave the top plain white: the reserved pastry topping stays separate and dry. Cover and refrigerate at 4°C or below for at least 4 hours until thoroughly chilled and firm enough to portion.
- Pudding and layers
Top, cut nine squares and serve
Just before serving, scatter the reserved half of the toasted kataifi-walnut mixture evenly across the chilled white pudding. Cut 3 columns and 3 rows to make 9 generous squares. Lift portions with a small spatula and serve cold. Share all loose crumbs between the nine portions; do not add extra nuts, pistachio, syrup, whipped cream, fruit or other garnish. Cover and refrigerate leftovers at 4°C or below and use within 2 days as a cautious untested home recommendation; pastry will soften. Limit total unrefrigerated time for the milk dessert to 2 hours, or 1 hour above 32°C.
Nutrition per serving
1 of 9 squares, including one ninth of all pudding and both kataifi-walnut layers. Estimates may vary with ingredients and brands.
- Calories
- 349 kcal
- Protein
- 5.5 g
- Carbohydrates
- 45.4 g
- Fat
- 16.7 g
- Saturated fat
- 6.3 g
- Sugar
- 20.1 g
- Sodium
- 227 mg
Checked 10/21/2026. Values are per the serving described above, regardless of recipe yield.
Notes from the kitchen.
Helpful tips
Plan about 25 minutes hands-on preparation, 35 minutes total cooking and 280 minutes cooling/chilling allowance: roughly 20 minutes pastry cooling, 20 minutes pudding cooling and at least 4 hours refrigeration. Actual conditions can extend cooling.
Make it your own
Contains wheat, milk and walnuts; check the pastry pack for other allergens. No gluten-free, vegan or overall egg-free claim because brands vary. This formula contains no added eggs, cream or syrup.
Storage & freezing
Keep the assembled milk dessert at 4°C or below. Use leftovers within 2 days as a cautious untested home suggestion; the pastry softens. Limit total time out of refrigeration to 2 hours, or 1 hour above 32°C.
At the table
Nine squares include all milk pudding, butter, sugar, walnuts and pastry, including loose crumbs. Divide cooked pastry into equal halves by weight. No exact cooked serving weight or laboratory nutrition claim.
A little something delicious.
Keep this recipe close for the next time the craving strikes.
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