What cheese-filled pastry dessert is topped with syrup?

Knafeh is a cheese-filled pastry dessert topped with sweet syrup.

It is made from kadayif, a fine pastry that may resemble shredded wheat or delicate noodles, layered with soft white cheese and baked or heated until crisp. A sugar syrup called attar, often scented with rose water or orange-blossom water, is poured over it. Pistachios commonly finish the dish.

Knafeh is popular across the Arab world, especially in the Levant. The Nabulsi style from Nablus is particularly famous and traditionally uses a firm, salty cheese. The dessert is served warm, at room temperature, or occasionally chilled, and is strongly associated with celebrations and Ramadan.

Its early history is not completely settled. A written version appears in a 13th-century Andalusian cookbook, while later traditions connect its creation to royal or caliphal kitchens. It is often confused with qatayef, which is a stuffed pancake-like dessert, and baklava, which uses layered filo pastry and nuts rather than the characteristic cheese-and-kadayif combination.