Kataïfi Ekmek
Custard Desert

 

A sweet, creamy dessert made with a base of kadaife pastry dough. Kadaife is finely shredded fillo dough that can be purchased at a Greek or Middle Eastern specialty grocery store.

 

INGREDIENTS:

Crust Ingredients:

  • 1 pound frozen kadaife (shredded fillo pastry dough) or 1 box Shredded Wheat (large biscuits)

  • ¾ cups sweet butter, melted

  • Milk/water

Syrup Ingredients:

  • 2 cups sugar

  • 2 teaspoons honey

  • 1 cup water

  • 1 cinnamon stick (optional)

Custard Ingredients:

  • 4 tablespoons cornstarch

  • 1/2 cup sugar

  • 4 cups milk

  • 4 egg yolks, lightly beaten

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping Ingredients:

  • 2 cups whipping cream

  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • Sliced toasted almonds (optional)

  • Maraschino cherries (optional)

  • Cinnamon (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

To Prepare Crust:

  • Crumble frozen kadaife or shredded wheat biscuits into a 13x9-inch glass baking dish (If using shredded wheat, dip lightly in milk or water before crumbling into baking dish); make at least a 1/2 inch layer of kadaife/shredded wheat base.

  • Drizzle with melted butter.

  • Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

  • Remove from oven and cool.

To Prepare Syrup:

  • In small pot, combine sugar, water, and flavoring.

  • Bring to a boil and simmer 10-15 minutes.

  • Spoon syrup over kadaife and cool.

To Prepare Custard:

  • Combine cornstarch and sugar in small bowl.

  • Add cold milk and whisk until no lumps appear.

  • Pour milk mixture into saucepan.

  • Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until milk mixture bubbles and thickens.

  • Turn heat to low.

  • Beat eggs yolks in separate bowl.

  • Add hot milk mixture, ladleful by ladleful, to egg yolks.

  • Incorporate at least 1 cup of milk mixture into eggs.

  • Slowly pour back egg/milk mixture into pot.

  • Add vanilla.

  • Cool custard for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally to prevent “skin” from forming.

To Prepare Topping:

  • Beat the whipping cream with the powdered sugar and vanilla until stiff. 

To Assemble Ekmek:

  • Spread custard evenly over kadaife crust.

  • Refrigerate 1-2 hours.

  • Top with layer of whipped cream.

  • If desired, decorate top with almonds and cherries or sprinkle top with cinnamon.

  • Chill well before serving.  


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