Ekmek Kataifi: Niki Louca shares her favourite recipe

Ekmek kataifi is one of those desserts that can be enjoyed all year round. It’s easy to make, but you need a few hours to allow the custard to set. It’s a popular dessert that can be made in a big tray or in individual bowls to serve at a dinner party. It’s a great recipe to make the day before when entertaining.

Niki Louca from My Greek Kitchen shares her favourite recipe for ekmek kataifi with The Greek Herald. You can follow her on Instagram @mygreekkitchen for more!

Ingredients

Syrup: 

• 3 cups water
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4-5 cloves

Kataifi pastry:

• 1 packet Antoniou kataifi pastry (375 grams)
• 150 gm unsalted butter melted
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder

Custard:

• 6 cups milk
• 100 gm corn flour
• 6 large eggs (70-80 gm size)
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 130 gm sugar
• 60 gm butter

Cream:

• 600ml thick cream
• 2 tbsp icing sugar
• Chopped pistachios – approx. ¾ cup

Method

1.  Combine all ingredients for the syrup in a pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and boil for a further 5 minutes.  Remove from heat, seat aside and allow to cool completely.
2. Preheat your oven to 180C fan force.
3. Cut your kataifi pastry to approx. 2-3 inch lengths to make it easier to pull apart.  Make sure the strands are untangled and loose.    Add the melted butter and with your hands, mix thoroughly so the butter is evenly distributed.  Spread them evenly in a 25 x 30 cm pan.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake for approx. 30 minutes till a rich golden colour.  Remove from the oven.
4. Pour the cooled syrup over the hot kataifi and using a spatula press is down to make it compact.  Set aside to cool completely.
5. In a heavy based saucepan add 5 ½ cups of milk.  Use the remainder ½ cup of milk to combine with the corn flour.  Add the corn flour mixture to the milk, then add your sugar, vanilla essence and butter.  In a small bowl whisk your eggs with a fork and then add them to the milk mixture. 
6. Using a whisk, keep stirring/whisking all the custard ingredients together making sure they don’t catch on the bottom of the saucepan.  Don’t walk away from this step as its easy for the custard to burn.  Once thick, remove from the heat and pour over the cooled kataifi.  Allow it to cool and set completely – best to put it in the fridge for 2-3 hours.
7. Once custard is set, whisk the thick cream with icing sugar till stiff peaks form and spread evenly over the custard and top with crushed pistachios.  Return to the fridge for a further hour before you serve it.

Niki Louca runs cooking classes in Melbourne. For more or to book classes visit My Greek Kitchen at www.mygreekkitchen.com.au or Instagram @mygreekkitchen. You can email Niki at: niki@mygreekkitchen.com.au.