126Ekmek kataifi

Method

Patisserie-style layered traybake. Cut into generous squares and serve chilled.

You will need

• 33 x 23 cm baking dish
• Saucepan
• Whisk
• Electric hand mixer
• Spatula

1. For the syrup, bring water, 200 g of the sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon stick to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat, simmer for 5 minutes, then set aside to cool completely. 7 min Ready when: Clear, slightly thickened syrup
2. Preheat a conventional oven to 175°C (350°F) and tease apart the kataifi dough with your fingers in a 33 x 23 cm baking dish until completely aerated and loose. 10 min · 175°C / 350°F Ready when: Strands fluffed and separated
3. Drizzle the melted butter evenly over the shredded pastry, tossing lightly to coat, then press down gently into a uniform layer. 3 min Ready when: Evenly buttered base
4. Bake in the conventional oven at 175°C (350°F) for 30 to 35 minutes until the kataifi turns an even, deep golden brown and feels crisp throughout. 35 min · 175°C / 350°F Ready when: Deep golden and thoroughly crisp
5. Remove the hot pastry from the oven and immediately ladle the cooled syrup evenly over the entire surface, then leave to absorb completely. 5 min Ready when: Pastry hisses as syrup absorbs
6. Whisk egg yolks, cornflour, and the remaining 150 g sugar in a bowl with 100 ml of the milk until smooth. 3 min Ready when: Smooth slurry without lumps
7. Heat the remaining milk in a saucepan until scalding, slowly pour into the yolk mixture while whisking, then return everything to the pan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until thick and bubbling. 6 min Ready when: Custard thick and glossy
8. Stir vanilla extract into the custard, pour hot over the cooled kataifi base, smooth the top, press baking parchment directly onto the surface, and chill in the fridge for 2 hours. 120 min Ready when: Custard fully set and chilled
9. Whip chilled double cream with icing sugar to soft-medium peaks, spread evenly over the set custard, and scatter toasted flaked almonds across the top before slicing. 6 min Ready when: Billowy whipped cream layer

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Make ahead and storing

Best assembled several hours ahead and chilled to allow layers to set.

Fridge 3 days; keep covered to preserve crisp pastry.

Substitutions

• crushed pistachios for flaked almonds. Pistachios give a more traditional northern Greek aesthetic.

Common mistakes

• Pouring hot syrup onto hot kataifi pastry.. Matching temperatures will turn the shredded pastry soggy instead of preserving crispness.
• Under-baking the kataifi base.. Pale strands become rubbery and gummy once soaked in syrup.

Regional variants

• Northern Greek version flavoured with ground mastic tears in the custard cream.
• Istanbul-heritage version garnished with crushed Aegina pistachios instead of almonds.

About the dish

Ekmek kataifi entered Greek urban pastry shops via the Greek refugees from Istanbul and Asia Minor in the 1920s. While the Ottoman ekmek kadayıfı was built on a special bread base, Greek patisseries reimagined the dish by substituting a crisp bed of shredded kataifi pastry. Soaked in aromatic sugar syrup, the crisp pastry is smothered with a thick mastic- or vanilla-scented custard and finished with unsweetened whipped cream and toasted nuts. It is now a classic fixture of Greek cake shops.

Found in all of Greece, Attica, Macedonia. Cooked for sunday lunch, name day, everyday.

Cousins elsewhere

• Ekmek kadayıfı (Turkish). The Turkish original uses a dehydrated bread-sponge base soaked in caramelised syrup and topped with clotted kaymak, whereas the Greek pastry evolved to use shredded kataifi dough.
• Aish el saraya (Levantine). Both feature a sweet, syrup-soaked starch base layered under thick milk pudding and dairy cream.

Nutrition per serving (estimate)

642 kcal · protein 10.1 g · fat 34.9 g (saturated 19.6 g) · carbohydrate 73.1 g (sugars 45.1 g) · fibre 1.6 g · sodium 221 mg

An estimate (summed from ingredient estimates) that varies with the exact ingredients. It is not dietary advice.

Written fresh by Epikouria editors from general culinary tradition. Recipe by the Epikouria editors. Asia Minor refugee pastry-shop tradition combining crisp syrupy kadaifi with diplomat cream..