Qatayef Arabic Ricotta Cream Filled Pancakes (قطايف)

Qatayef also called atayef, is a delicious Arabic dessert made of a small pancake filled with whipped ricotta cream. Qatayef is served with a sweet fragrant rosewater orange blossom syrup.

It is commonly served for dessert during the month of Ramadan, but we make this delicious Middle Eastern dessert all year long!

My qatayef dough recipe is super easy to make with just a few simple ingredients like flour, baking powder, and water. No semolina flour, and no yeast.

Do you love Arabic food and want to learn more authentic recipes from the Middle East? Make sure to read my complete guide on Cooking Arabic Food At Home!

WHAT IS QATAYEF?

Qatayef, or Atayef depending on where you are from, is a delicious Arabic dessert recipe. Qatayef is a small pancake that is cooked on one side, and then either stuffed with nuts, and fried, or half folded and stuffed with cheese.

WHERE ARE QATAYEF FROM?

Qatayef is a dessert common in the Levant region of the Middle East- Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.

HOW CAN I MAKE A HEALTHY QATAYEF RECIPE?

Most Arabic desserts are super indulgent and heavy on the cream and sugar. So delicious!! And is totally fine if you want just a little treat. But, if you are trying to eat healthier, or are avoiding refined sugar & grains, you can definitely make a healthy katayef recipe.

Healthy qatayef substitutions:

• All purpose flour- use white wheat flour, or a 1:1 gluten free baking flour.
• Sugar- use honey or maple syrup. Or, cut the sugar in half.
• Clotted cream- use whole milk greek yogurt or full fat coconut milk.

No need to change ricotta cheese, baking powder, water, rose water, orange blossom water, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and pistachios. These are all healthy ingredients already.

If you are dairy free/ vegan, the qatayef batter & syrup is already dairy free and vegan friendly. To make a dairy free/vegan qatayef filling, simply use a dairy free ricotta substitute.

TIPS TO MAKE THE BEST QATAYEF WITH CREAM RECIPE

Let your qatayef batter rest for 15 minutes before cooking. This gives time for the baking powder to activate for those signature bubbles on your Arabic pancakes.

Fry pancakes without oil. Don't use oil to make your pancakes. If you use oil, you could end up with crispy pancakes. The qatayef pancakes should be very soft, not crispy.

Use a high quality whole milk ricotta cheese. Not all ricotta are equal! Some ricotta has more water in it, and will make your filling very runny.

Simmer rose water syrup for 10 minutes. This will give you that perfect qatayef dipping consistency!

WATCH HOW I MADE EASY QATAYEF

FAQ's

What is qatayef made of?

It is made of a pancake filled with either cheese or with nuts and then fried. Then, it is served with dipping syrup. Or, if you are making the fried kind, syrup is poured on top.

How many calories are in a qatayef?

1 pancake filled with cream and dipped in syrup is 99 calories.

What are the different kinds of qatayef?

There are two main kinds of qatayef, one is filled with creamy cheese and left open on one side. The other kind is stuffed with nuts & spice and then sealed and fried.

What kind of pan should I use to cook the pancakes?

I have made mine in a stainless steel frying pan. The pancakes will start to form a brown layer as the cooking process goes on. So wipe your pan after 4-5 pancakes to make sure the bottom of the pancakes don't get too dark.

A non stick pan works much better for these. I also like to use my non toxic non stick pan that is coated with a ceramic coating.

HOW TO MAKE THE BEST CREAM FILLED QATAYEF

I always start by making the rose syrup first. That way, the syrup has time to cool before you whisk it into the ricotta cheese.

To make the qatayef syrup: in a saucepan add 1 cup sugar, ½ cup water, juice of ½ lemon, 1 teaspoon orange blossom water, and ½ teaspoon rose water. Bring the syrup to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer it for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the syrup to cool.

HOW TO MAKE QATAYEF DOUGH (BATTER)

I made a super simple qatayef batter without yeast and without semolina flour. I found that the pancakes were super soft and fluffy and most of all, delicious!

For the batter, whisk together: 1 ½ cups all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 ½ cup water, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Let the batter rest for ~15 minutes until you see small bubbles formed in it.

HOW TO COOK QATAYEF

Once you see the bubbles, heat your frying pan over the lowest heat.

Drop pancake batter onto the hot pan 1 tablespoon at a time. Gently spread wet batter out immediately so that the pancake is thin and perfectly round.

Let the pancake cook on only 1 side until the surface is no longer sticky or shiny.

Let your pancakes cool completely on a dry towel before filling them.

While the pancakes cool, prepare the ricotta filling and the pistachios.

For the ricotta filling: Whisk together 2 cups of whole milk ricotta cheese, ⅛ cup clotted cream, and 1 tablespoon of the cooled rose water syrup.

In a blender or food processor, pulse the ¼ cup pistachios until they are finely ground up. Pour the pistachios onto a plate for dipping.

HOW TO FILL QATAYEF WITH RICOTTA CREAM

1- Take 1 pancake, press one side firmly between your fingers so that one side sticks together.

2- Add about 1 tablespoon of the ricotta mixture.

3- Dip the end in the pistachios.

And that's it! Easy qatayef, I hope you love these as much as we do!

More dessert recipes you might like:

1. Basbousa with Cream
2. Arabic Walnut Baklava
3. Stuffed Dates
4. Rose Milk Cake
5. Pistachio cardamom cupcakes with rosewater frosting
6. Arabic Butter Cookies (Graybeh)

If you try my Qatayef Recipe, please let me know your thoughts by leaving a rating and comment below! Ready for more? Subscribe to my newsletter or follow along on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube!