EKMEK KATAIFI
FOR THE SYRUP:
- 2 & 1/4 cups water
- 3 cups sugar
- Peel of 1 lemon
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 5 whole cloves
FOR THE BASE:
- 375g Antoniou shredded pastry
- 150 g butter
FOR THE CUSTARD:
- 1 litre milk
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
- 6 egg yolks
- 1 cup corn starch
- 100g butter, chilled
- Zest of 1 lemon
FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM:
- 600ml cream, chilled (please do not use low fat)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup icing sugar
TO SERVE:
- Toasted crushed walnuts (Or any nut/s of your choice and fruits of your choice)
METHOD:
For the syrup:
In a pot, add the water, sugar, lemon rind, whole cloves and cinnamon stick. Place pot over low heat and bring to a boil. As soon as it starts to boil for 3-4 minutes, until the sugar melts.
When ready, remove from heat and set it aside to cool completely.
For the base:
Preheat oven to 160c Fan.
Separate the shredded pastry with your hands, making sure there are no knots and it fluffs up. Grease a 25x35 cm baking pan with butter and spread 1/3 of the shredded pastry and drizzle some butter and then repeat again, until all of the shredded pastry and butter are done. Bake for 1 hour so that it can turn golden colour. When ready, remove from oven and immediately pour the cool syrup over it with a ladle. Set aside for 30 minutes to allow the shredded pastry to soak up all of the syrup.
For the custard:
In a pot, add 900 g of milk, sugar, lemon zest and vanilla sugar. Place pot over medium to low heat so that the milk doesn’t burn. In a bowl, add 100g of milk, corn flour and the egg yolks, Whisk until the yolks are incorporated. As soon as the milk mixture is warm , remove from heat. Scoop up a few ladleful’s of the milk mixture from the pot and slowly into you egg mixture, make sure you are using a whisk and keep steering it so that the eggs don't split, while whisking continuously transfer the contents of the bowl back to the pot. Cook over medium heat until it thickens. Turn off heat and add the chilled butter and whisk until the butter melts and is incorporated. Pour the custard over the baked shredded pastry and spread it evenly over the entire surface with a spatula. Cover with plastic wrap, making sure the wrap touches the surface of the custard directly (so that a film is not formed) and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.
For the whipped cream:
In a mixer, add the chilled heavy cream, vanilla extract and icing sugar. Beat on high speed for 2-3 minutes, until you create a whipped cream. To assemble Remove the Kataifi from the refrigerator and spread the whipped cream over it.
To finish it off:
Sprinkle with crushed toasted walnuts. Put this back in the fridge and let it cool properly and set before serving. It's best to leave it over night before serving.
You can also serve with your choice of fresh fruit.