Banana Kunafa Cones in Malagos Chocolate
Chef Rod Hinampas

Here’s one of my favorite desserts to make.

Cruncy junta cones are filled with mashed bananas and Malagos chocolate, then sprinkled with your favorite topping and a home made vegan ice cream on the side. 

It’s a bit time consuming,  but when you bite into this deliciousness, all the work  -- and the wait -- is definitely worth while. 

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Freeze time: 2-6 hours
Serves 6-8
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Ingredients

Tools Needed

• A pot
• A whisk
• A storage container
• A baking pan
• Parchment papaer
• 20-24 oven safe metal cone forms (aka Cream Hold Molds)
  
  

Ingredients
For the syrup: 

• 2 cups (14 oz / 400 g) granulated sugar
• 1 cup (237 ml) water
• A squeeze of fresh lemon juice, about 1 tsp

For the kunafa cones and chocolate:

•  1lb/ 500g FRESH kunafa sold in long organized strands (known as kunafa torah) 
• 3/4 cup (6oz/ 170g) ghee or clarified butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 3/4 cup (8oz/ 227g) chocolate Malagos (melted) 

For the banana and cream cheese filling:

• 1 1/2 tablespoons (1/2oz/ 14g) powdered sugar 
• 6 pcs. Banana (golden saba brand) boiled
• 1 cup (237ml) cold cream cheese 
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

For the toppings: 

• Chopped nuts like hazelnuts and pistachios 
• Sprinkles 
• Chocolates 

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Procedure: 

TO MAKE THE SYRUP: 

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, water, and squeeze of lemon juice. Set on the stovetop over high heat. Try to avoid stirring as it heats to prevent crystallization from happening, but if the sugar is not dissolving, then help it out with a few stirs. Once it comes to a boil, STOP stirring. 
2. Bring to a rolling boil, then immediately reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Set a timer! The syrup will thicken and have a consistency similar to corn syrup. It should be slightly thicker than the average simple syrup used for the classic pan kunafa. 
3. Remove from heat. Transfer to a liquid measuring cup or gravy boat and allow to cool to room temperature before using. 

TO MAKE THE KUNAFA CONES: 

1. Unwrap the kunafa from its paper. Take about a (3/4"/ 2cm) thick strand of kunafa and rewrap the rest to prevent it from drying out. 
2. Roll the kunafa strand around the cone form (as shown in the photos). Start by placing one end of the strand in the middle of the cone, then beginning from the small, closed-end of the form, tightly wrap the remaining strand over the back and overlapping that middle piece and up until you almost reach the wide opening of the form.
3. Leave a small part of the metal form showing; this will make it easier to grab onto while removing the baked cones later. Ensure that the kunafa is wrapped as tightly as possible without tearing and that no gaps are showing.
4. To make the kunafa stick to itself and prevent unrolling, dampen your hands with a little bit of water, and apply pressure on the wrapped kunafa, pressing tightly on it until it's stable and all the stray strands are stuck to the cone form. Don't get it too wet; just damp enough to stick the kunafa to itself. Repeat with the remaining kunafa. 
5. Place the wrapped kunafa cones on a baking sheet. When ready to bake, adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven 200C/ 392F. 
   IMPORTANT: Loosen the hardened kunafa from the metal form quite a bit, so it's not so stuck to it anymore, but do not remove completely, making it easier to later remove the kunafa from the form without breaking. If you don't do that, you'll have a tough time removing the baked kunafa from the metal form. 
6. Pour the sugar syrup into a shallow bowl. Dip and roll the kunafa cones in it to saturate the pastry. Allow excess syrup to drip back into the bowl. You can also use a brush as you what you like and prefer instead of dipping. 
7. Place the syrup dipped kunafa cones on their sides onto a baking sheet. Bake the cones, flipping them every 5 minutes on a different side to ensure even browning until the kunafa turns golden brown in color, 15 to 20 minutes. 
8. Remove from the oven, then immediately transfer the cones to a clean pan. Drizzle the piping hot kunafa with the cooled syrup again. Move the kunafa around to coat with the syrup. 
9. Transfer the cones to a wire rack lined with a sheet of foil. Place the cones standing upside down over the wire rack to cool completely and allow to drip all the excess syrup. 
10. Once cooled, carefully twist the kunafa cones to remove them from the form. If you're having a hard time removing it, place it in the freezer to cool further, then try again. It helps! 

​Prepare the Filling

1. In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar and cream cheese. Stir and mix. Bring the mixture to a stiff formed. Stir in the vanilla and the ready boiled banana. Set aside. 

Putting it all together

1. Transfer the banana with cream cheese  in one piping bag, and the melted malagos chocolate in another piping bag. Snip off the ends. 
2. Place the tip of the piping bag filled with the banana and cream cheese mixture inside a kunafa cone and pipe a small amount.
   
3. Then take the piping bag with the Malagos chocolate and pipe a small amount into the cone. Continue piping alternate layers of banana with cream cheese mixture and melted malagos chocolate, ending with the chocolate. Repeat with the remaining cones. 
4. Sprinkle the top of the cones with your topping of choice, serve and enjoy:) These are best eaten with homemade vegan ube ice cream on the side .