Greek Ekmek Kataifi

Greek Ekmek Kataifi is a great dessert. It’s perfect for a warm summer day. It uses that wonderful kataifi pastry, which is very fine strands of filo pasty.

The same pastry is also very common in Turkey where is it known as Kadayif(kadaif). The pastry is available in chilled, frozen or dried form. For this recipe chilled is needed, or frozen but thawed pastry.

In the UK the kataifi isn’t available in most supermarkets but you can find it in Greek or Turkish stores/delicatessens or other Mediterranean stores. I bought mine from a shop which specialises in Turkish foods.

Kataifi, though, is only one part of the recipe. There is also a lovely syrup, to pour over the kataifi. Then we have a custard too and some cream. In addition some chopped nuts such as pistachios or walnuts add another flavour and texture.

What is Ekmek Kataifi?

It is a lovely dessert that has a base of butter coated baked kataifi. On that we put some chopped nuts(pistachios in my case). Then we pour a sweet syrup over that before covering it with a thick and creamy custard. Onto the custard goes some whipped cream and then a topping of chopped nuts and a dusting of cinnamon too.

I wont claim my version to be authentic, since I have never eaten it before. But it is certainly very tasty and. hopefully, is quite close to the original.

Ingredients for Ekmek Kataifi

For the kataifi base

Kataifi pastry – the very fine shredded filo pastry. Chilled kataifi works best.

Butter – unsalted butter to coat the kataifi.

Nuts – chopped pistachios, walnuts or other nuts.

For the syrup

Sugar – Caster sugar or granulated sugar, and lots of it.

Water – To create the syrup as the sugar dissolves into it.

Cinnamon Sticks – to give some flavour to the syrup.

Lemon Wedges – to give some flavour to the syrup.

For the custard

Milk & Cream – I use a combination of whole milk and double cream. But all milk will work too. The ration of milk to cream is a matter of preference.

Sugar – Caster or granulated sugar for a little sweetness.

Eggs – Medium eggs in UK/Europe and large eggs in North America. Usually when making custard I will just use egg yolks, but since I want the custard to set up very well the egg whites will help that.

Cornflour – To thicken the custard. In North America this is known as cornstarch.

Flour – Plain/all purpose flour as another thickening agent. This also aids the setting up of the custard.

Vanilla Extract – As a flavour.

For the top

Cream – Double cream or heavy cream, for whipping.

Sugar – Caster sugar to sweeten the cream a little.

Vanilla Extract – to flavour the cream.

Nuts – roughly chopped nuts, such as pistachio to sprinkle on the top.

Cinnamon – a little ground cinnamon to dust over the top.

Process for Ekmek Kataifi

The process is quite simple, though it does take quite some time as there are several components.

The first thing to do is to make a flavoursome syrup, with the sugar, water, cinnamon sticks and lemon wedges and then to let it cool completely. Remove the sticks and wedges.

Then spread the kataifi into a large baking dish and drizzle melted butter over it to coat the shreds.

Sprinkle over the chopped nuts and bake in a preheated oven (180C/160C Fan/350F) until nicely browned and crisp, about 25 minutes.

Pour the cool syrup over the hot kataifi and set it aside while you make the custard, which needs to be very thick and cooked through so you cannot taste flour.

Spread the custard over the kataifi and then press some plastic wrap onto the surface and leave it to cool completely. You can cool it in the fridge after a while.

Whip the cream with sugar and vanilla extract. Spread, or pipe, it over the custard. Dust it with ground cinnamon and sprinkle nuts on the top. Then chill the Ekmek Kataifi well before serving.

My Ekmek Katifi

I chilled mine for at least an hour after adding the cream. Then I sliced it into rather large portions.

I was able to remove a portion fairly cleanly and had a taste. The pastry base was wonderfully sweet and flavoursome. Then the thick and creamy custard along with the cream was perfect. The nuts gave extra flavour and texture as well, and that dusting of cinnamon finished it off very well.

Another very nice dessert is Strawberry Trifle

Greek Ekmek Kataifi

Recipe by geoffcoo

Course: DessertCuisine: GreekDifficulty: Medium

Servings

12

servings

Prep time(excl. waiting)

30

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

• Kataifi Base

• 400g(14 oz) kataifi

• 227g(1 cup) unsalted butter, melted

• 50g(1/2 cup) roughly chopped pistachios

• Syrup

• 400g(2 cups) caster sugar

• 500ml(2 cups + 4 tsp) water

• 2 cinnamon sticks

• 2 lemon wedges(1/2 lemon cut in two)

• Custard

• 1.5 ltrs(6 cups) whole milk, or combination of whole milk and cream

• 100g(3/4 cup) cornflour

• 100g(2/3 cup, based on scooping packed flour into a 250ml cup) plain flour

• 150g(3/4 cup) caster sugar

• 4 medium eggs(large in USA)

• 15ml(1 tbsp) vanilla extract

• Cream Topping

• 480ml(2 cups) double cream

• 50g(1/4 cup) caster sugar

• 10ml(2 tsp) vanilla extract

• 2g(2 tsp) ground cinnamon(how much you use is a personal preference

• 50g(1/2 cup) roughly chopped pistachios

Directions

• Place the water, sugar, cinnamon sticks and lemon wedges into a saucepan and bring it to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
• Simmer the syrup for 2 minutes then take it off the heat and leave it to cool completely. Remove the cinnamon sticks and lemon wedges once cool.
• Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/350F.
• Gently separate the shreds of kataif and spread it over the base of a 13 x 9 inch(33 x 23 cm) baking dish/pan.
• Drizzle the melted butter over the top to coat the shreds(I turned my kataifi over to ensure a good coating).
• Sprinkle chopped pistachios over the top.
• Bake the kataifi until is it golden brown and nice and crisp, about 25 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the oven and immediately pour the syrup over the top.
• Set the pan aside.
• Place most of the milk/cream in a large saucepan, holding back about 1/2 cup.
• Place the saucepan onto the stove and heat gently until just about to boil.
• Meanwhile place the eggs, sugar, cornflour and flour into a large bowl and whisk them together into a smooth paste, with no lumps.
• Add the remaining milk and the vanilla extract and whisk again. If there are any small lumps you can strain them out.
• Ladle a little of the hot milk into the egg mixture and whisk constantly, adding a little more milk to temper the eggs.
• Pour the egg mixture into the saucepan with the milk and put it back on the heat.
• Whisk constantly as the custard starts to thicken, to prevent any lumps forming.
• The custard will become very thick as it cooks. Continue to cook for about 5 minutes, still whisking, on a gentle heat, until the flour is cooked. Test that by tasting the custard.
• Pour the custard onto the kataifi and spread evenly all over the surface.
• Press some plastic wrap onto the surface of the custard to stop a film from forming and leavve it to cool completey. After a while you can refrigerate it to aid cooling.
• Whisk the cream and sugar togther, adding the vanilla too, until you have stiff peaks.
• Spread, or pipe, the cream onto the cooled custard.
• Dust with cinnamon and sprinkle the pistachios on the top.
• Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.