Mastic-flavored Ekmek

Mastic-flavored Ekmek
5.0/5 rating (2 votes)

  • Complexity: medium

Ingredients

  • kataifi pastry: 500 g
  • fresh or watered down condensed milk: 1250 ml
  • granulated sugar: 280 g
  • all-purpose flour: 250 g, sifted
  • eggs: 5
  • fresh butter: 250 g
  • Chios mastic: pinch, ground or essence
  • heavy cream: 600 ml
  • icing sugar: 200 g
  • mastic essence (liqueur): 3 tbsp
  • Aegina pistachios or almonds: 150 g, coarsely chopped, toasted
  • FOR THE SYRUP
  • sugar: 360 g
  • water: 180 g

Directions

  1. Prepare the pastry cream. Put the eggs and the granulated sugar in a bowl and use an electric mixer to blend together until smooth. Pour in the sifted flour, stir and slowly add the milk after heating it.

  2. Pour the cream mixture into a saucepan and bring to the boil stirring constantly until thick. After a little boiling, remove from the heat and add the mastic and half the butter. Set aside to cool and thicken.

  3. Meanwhile, spread out the kataifi pastry, separating the strands with your fingers. Layer on a buttered baking sheet and bake at 160 °C for 10΄-20΄ until golden brown. Next, pour the sugar into the water and boil for 7΄. When the syrup is done, remove from the heat. Spoon over the freshly-out-of-the-oven kataifi while the syrup is still hot. Leave the syrup-soaked kataifi to cool.

  4. Spread the cream on the kataifi and put in the fridge to cool. Next, whip the heavy cream with the icing sugar until stiff peaks form and add the mastic essence. Layer on top of the pastry cream, scoring with a fork, if desired. Cut into squares and garnish with pistachios or almonds.

Tips

The Greek version of a delicious sweet idea, based on cream and this special type of pastry which is like angel's hair pasta, called "kadaifi or "kataifi". It was introduced to Greek kitchen many years ago from Near East (either from Constantinople, modern Istanbul, or Smyrna, modern Izmir).