Love the cronut? Habibi, try the cronefeh

By Nichole Miranda

Anyone who has spent their childhood in the Middle East has fond memories of the knafeh.

Layered with fresh cheese, nuts and shredded phyllo pastry, and soaked in an amber-hued syrup, this mouth-watering pastry has been the highlight of many an Eid celebration, besides the money that elders would sneak into your pocket with a kiss on the forehead. And what would you use that money for? To buy more knafeh!

It was a vicious (and delicious) cycle.

Going by different names across the region: Knafe in Lebanon and Syria, Kadaif in Turkey and Konafa in Egypt; this beloved, ubiquitous dessert is laden with history, homely traditions and scrumptious memories for anyone who have lived in or visited the Middle East.

But if there’s anything as popular as knafeh on this side of the world, it’s hybrids.

Pizzas with crusts made out of cheeseburgers and chicken strips, a cross-breed between poodles and pitbulls and even the hybrid car that promised to save the world from a natural apocalypse.

Then came the wildly popular cronut – a blend between a classic croissant and doughnut – that soon became the obsession of anyone with working tastebuds. Now, a Lebanese bakery has blended the East and the West to create his own tasty delight– the cronefeh.

If the cronefeh ever wins a Nobel Prize or if you have already tasted the dessert and are wondering who to address a bouquet of flowers to, it’s Naeem Maalouf. Nurturing a passion for sweets since they were children, Naeem and his brothers’ love for all things sweet eventually transformed itself into a family bakery named Sea Sweet – a sweet shop that has seen more hardships than just burned pastries and stale frosting.

Having survived Lebanon’s civil war, challenging economic conditions and bitter circumstances, the bakery still manages to make people smile with a simple lick of sweetness.

With the belief that generosity and good ingredients are key to success in the business, Naeem and his brothers have put a modern spin on a regional classic and concocted the cronefeh – a creamy, chocolate croissant stuffed with a cheesy knafeh filling. Although the dessert has been around for a few years now, the Middle Eastern hybrid has recently taken social media by storm with people raving about the sinful decadence that combines the best of the East and West.

In fact, the cronefeh isn’t the only croissant whose reputation the Lebanese have enhanced. Another popular snack that calls a Lebanese kitchen its home is the zaa’tar croissant. The earthy mixture of thyme, sesame and sumac sprinkled onto an unassuming croissant makes the perfect breakfast.

It’s time to call your treadmill and give the relationship a break.

Centuries from now, a history class will recall Lebanon as the origin of prominent poetry, the Temple of Bacchus and the legendary cronefeh.