Foolproof Qatayef Recipe (Atayef)

Qatayef (or Atayef) are a popular middle eastern dessert consisting of yeasted pancakes stuffed with nuts, sweet cheese, or thick cream. They are fried until crispy then dunked in simple syrup and enjoyed hot and crunchy. This step-by-step recipe is a deep dive into the perfect qatayef, including air fryer (my favourite) and oven baked methods.

Qatayef Don’t Need To Be Intimidating!

Qatayef are the ultimate dessert served during the month of Ramadan. Desserts gain popularity during Ramadan as everyone looks for a sweet ending to their iftar, and while other desserts like luqaimat, kunafa, and baklava are also served, something about qatayef makes them the ultimate winner. Fun fact: these qatayef are so close to a Moroccan breakfast pancake called baghrir!

Now for the longest time, I was scared of making them and resorted to store-bought. But once I decided to learn how to make them at home – store-bought qatayef taste so bad to me! The homemade version is so much better.

The process of making qatayef involves the following 4 stages:

• Making the simple syrup. This syrup needs to cool, so it’s the first thing you need to make.

• Second, making the qatayef batter. All the ingredients are blended with water to form a runny batter. There are a few technical details to keep in mind in order to get the batter right.

• While the batter rests, the stuffing options are prepared. Either walnuts, cheese, or ashta (thick cream) can be used.

• Finally, the qatayef are cooked and stuffed then either fried, baked or air fried. Once cooked, they are dunked in simple syrup and served right away.

In terms of fillings, here are the options (though I’m telling you now, cheese is the best!):

1. Nuts (usually walnuts) and cinnamon; this is the easiest filling to prepare,
2. Sweet cheese (which just means cheese that isn’t salty) for a gooey cheese centre, and;
3. Ashta, which is a thick clotted cream. The ashta qatayef are typically not fried and just stuffed into the soft pancakes.

Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Qatayef

For the batter: you’ll need all-purpose flour, fine semolina, water, yeast, sugar, and salt. It’s important to use fine semolina, and not medium or coarse semolina. This combination of flour and semolina results in the perfect qatayef texture.

For the sugar syrup: you’ll need water, sugar, a bit of lemon juice, and rose water or orange blossom water (optional).

For the fillings: walnuts and cinnamon for the nut variety, and sweet cheese for the cheese filling.

Sweet cheese is a type of cheese found at middle eastern shops. It is cheese that has been soaked and stripped from all of the salt. If you can’t find it, use fresh mozzarella as a great alternative, which will give a sweet and salty final product (which I love!).

How to Make Qatayef: step-by-step

Step 1: Make the simple syrup

The simple syrup needs to be made first in order to fully cool down. It must be cool when the hot qatayef are dunked in it. Combine the sugar, water and squeeze of lemon juice in a pot. Set it over medium heat and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, then remove from heat and add the orange blossom water or rose water if using. Leave it to cool.

Step 2: Make the Qatayef / Atayef Batter

Next, prepare the batter using a blender. This step comes next because the batter will need to rest for 20 minutes, which is the time you can use to prepare the filling.

Add the water to the blender first, then add all of the dry ingredients for the batter. Blend on medium-high speed for 20 seconds, until bubbles form on the surface. Transfer it to a bowl and allow it to rest for 20 minutes.

TIP: Always add the water to the blender first. If you add the dry ingredients before the water, there is a higher chance they will stick to the blender blades and take longer to blend in smoothly.

If you don’t have a blender: simply add the water to a large mixing bowl, then add the dry ingredients and use a whisk to whisk all of them together vigorously for 20 seconds.

Step 3: Make the filling while the batter rests

To make the filling, crush the walnuts into small pieces. Avoid crushing them too much into a fine powder; you still need the texture of the nuts. Large pieces, however, may tare the pancakes.

Aim for the size pictured in the photo. My favourite way to do this is using a plastic bag and a rolling pin to bang them. I find a food processor grinds them too finely.

Add the cinnamon to the walnuts, along with 4 tablespoons of the simple syrup. You can also use sugar, but I find the syrup blends in better and also helps the walnuts stick together which makes them easier to stuff into the qatayef.

For the cheese filling, shred the sweet cheese (or mozzarella cheese). If you want to only make the walnuts or only make the cheese, then double the filling of your choice (this recipe makes half a batch of each filling, and a full batch of qatayef).

Step 4: Cook the Qatayef on one side

Once the batter has rested for 20 minutes, it’s time to cook the qatayef on one side. Prepare your work-station: heat a non-stick pan to a medium-low heat, prepare two towels on the counter and place one of them over a sheet pan. You will place the cooked qatayef on the towel covered sheet pan, then use the second towel to cover them while cooking the rest. This is important so they don’t dry out.

Place your largest non-stick skillet on medium-low heat. Once it’s hot, pour 1/8 cup of batter on your pan. An 1/8th cup is roughly half of a 1/4 measuring cup. I use a 1/4 cup and eyeball it to the half way mark. You can pour more than one at a time, depending on the size of your pan. Just don’t allow them to touch.

TIP: When pouring, pour in one spot and don’t move your hand so the batter spreads out into an even circle.

Bubbles will start forming on the surface. Do not move or disturb the pancake while it cooks. You will see the white color of the batter slowly dry up from the outside in.

It will take a few minutes for the batter to slowly dry up. It’s important to notice that you’re getting small uniform bubbles all over the pancake surface. If not, check the troubleshooting tips further below.

If you’re not getting enough bubbles or the pancake looks too thick, add 1/4 cup of water to the batter and mix it through, then let it stand for another 5 minutes. I had to do this twice when I tested this recipe.

IMPORTANT: Do not blend the batter in between cooking each pancake. This ends up deflating all the bubbles inside the batter from the yeast. Simply work through the batch, scooping 1/8 cup at a time and gently stirring with a spoon a few times in between. Only add water and mix it if the batter is cooking up too thick or with few bubbles.

Once it has completely dried, use a flat edged utensil or spatula to remove from the heat (do not flip it over – atayef only cook on one side). Place them on the towel lined tray, making sure to never overlap the two bubbly sides. You can overlap them slightly as long as it is the cooked side over a bubbly side.

TIP: If you notice small bubbles going all the way through the pancakes to the cooked/browned side, that means the heat is too high and you’ll need to decrease it slightly. This happened to me on my first few tries. Those pancakes are perfectly fine though, so you can still use them for the walnut filling (not the cheese in case it oozes out).

Step 5: Fill and Fry / Air fry / or Bake the Qatayef

To fill the qatayef, fold them over to create half moon shapes, and pinch at one end to create an open cone. Add 2-3 teaspoons of the filling inside, avoiding overfilling.

Then continue to pinch the sides together firmly so the soft side of the batter sticks together and forms a half moon shape.

Repeat the same process with the cheese filling if you are using.

Now the qatayef are ready to be cooked using your chosen method: either fry them, bake them or air fry. You can also freeze them at this point if you want to cook them later. Check the final section for freezing instructions.

Qatayef cooking instructions:

• To deep fry: fill a pan with vegetable oil at least 1.5-2 inches deep. Allow the oil to heat up on medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, fry the atayef for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden and crispy. Remove and set on paper towels for a few minutes, then dip into the simple syrup. Remove and place on a serving platter.

• To oven bake: preheat the oven to 425F. Spray the qatayef on both sides with vegetable oil (I use avocado oil) and line them up on a sheet pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and crispy, flipping halfway through.

• To air fry (my favourite method): Place the qatayef in the air fryer basket, spaced at least 1/2 inch apart. Spray both sides with vegetable oil. Air fry at 400F for 8-10 minutes. No need to flip! If they are not very crispy, continue air frying for 2-3 more minutes.

TIP: Do not use butter to brush the qatayef. It works but it does lead to a softer qatayef once cooked, since butter has a lot of moisture. Only use ghee or vegetable oil of your choosing. Do not use olive oil.

Once the qatayef are cooked, dip them in the simply syrup for a few seconds, then remove them and place them onto a serving platter.

Garnish with chopped pistachios or walnuts if desired, and serve immediately.

TIP: Qatayef will soften over time, so you can prepare them and set them aside. Cook them just before serving for optimal flavour and crunch.

Feel free to serve extra simply syrup on the side for anyone who likes them extra sweet.

Troubleshooting The Batter

Qatayef batter can be tricky to get just right. It is a liquid batter, much more loose than regular pancake batter. It also uses yeast to create those bubbles on the surface. Through testing, I found that the combination of flour and fine semolina to be optimal for qatayef that are crunchy on the outside but fluffy on the inside.

The batter is blended together in a blender and left to rest so the bubbles can form. However, sometimes, the batter can get thick, which results in bubbles that are wide apart and large. This means the qatayef will be too thick when folded over.

This recipe, if followed accurately, will promise you perfect atayef. But here is a descriptive guide to follow to trouble shoot your qatayef if necessary:

• Perfect Qatayef: when being cooked, the qatayef should form small bubbles all over in a uniform way, and the pancake should not be too thick. Check the photo below for the perfect result.
• Qatayef with a thick batter / or batter that rose too much: If the batter is thick or it rose too much, you’ll notice bubbles that are big and far apart, as well as a thicker pancake. Fix this by adding 1/4 cup of water and mix it through with a spoon to deflate it a bit. Try another piece to test.
• Qatayef that have no bubbles: If the qatayef don’t end up bubbling much, then it means the batter needs a bit more time to rise and develop those bubbles. Allow it to rise for another 10-15 minutes and try again.

How to Freeze Qatayef

Here are my specific freezing instructions. Please follow these because I have tried a few methods that did not work and resulted in dry qatayef.

What not to do: Do not cook the pancakes and refrigerate them either before filling or after filling. Placing them in the fridge dries out the batter and ends up tearing once you cook them.

How to Freeze Qatayef:

• Prepare the qatayef up to the step where you finish filling them and securing them shut.
• Using either vegetable oil or ghee, brush or spray a small amount on both sides of each qatayef.
• Place the qatayef on a large tray or sheet pan, 1/2 inch apart. Place them in the freezer for 1-2 hours until they are frozen solid.
• Remove the tray and you can now place all of them in a freezer bag to save space. Once they’re frozen, they can touch one another.

How to Cook From Frozen:

• You can fry, bake, or air fry right from frozen. You will just need to add an extra 2-3 minutes to the total cooking time since they are frozen.
• You do not need to thaw them out in advance. However, if they do thaw on the counter for a bit before cooking, that’s completely fine too.

If you tried these recipes, please consider leaving a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page – I’d love to hear from you! You can also hop on over to Instagram and say hello!