Mia Kouppa

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Greek ekmek kataifi with apple

Apple pie flavoured Greek custard and whipped topping dessert with syrup soaked kataifi pastry base

Prep Time30

Cook Time30

Chilling time4

Total Time5

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Greek

Servings: servings

Calories: 677kcal

Author: Billie Bitzas

Equipment

1 glass baking ban 10 x 15 inches (4.5 liters)
1 small pot
1 large pot
1 whisk or mixer to whip the cream

Ingredients

For the syrup

1 liter apple juice
3 cups sugar
1 large cinnamon stick

For the kataifi pastry base

1 pound kataifi pastry
¼ cup butter, melted
1 tsp cinnamon

For the apple pie custard

3 medium apples, peeled and cored
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp water
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp vanilla
1½ liters milk
8 tbsp Jotis vanilla pudding mix or cornstarch
½ tsp vanilla powder increase amount to 1 tsp if you are using cornstarch instead of the pudding mix
⅔ cup sugar
3 tbsp butter
7 large eggs

For the whipped topping

500 ml heavy whipped cream
2 tbsp icing sugar
2 tbsp apple brandy or cognac, or apple juice
½ cup crushed walnuts
¼ tsp cinnamon

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prepare the syrup

Combine all of the ingredients for the syrup in a small pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium and cook, uncovered, for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
1 liter apple juice, 3 cups sugar, 1 large cinnamon stick

Prepare the kataifi pastry base

Grease the bottom and sides of a 10 x 15 inch (4.5 litre) glass baking pan. Preheat oven to 350 °F.
Use your hands to pull apart the kataifi pastry. This takes time and patience to ensure that you have pulled it all apart. You do not want to be left with compact, balls of kataifi dough. The dough should be loose and totally pulled apart. Place it on the bottom of your baking pan. Spread evenly.
1 pound kataifi pastry
Drizzle the melted butter over the kataifi dough and use your hands to mix the dough. The butter should be evenly dispersed throughout the kataifi. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon. Bake in the middle rack of the oven for 20 - 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven.
¼ cup butter, melted, 1 tsp cinnamon
As soon as you remove the kataifi dough from the oven pour the room temperature syrup over it. Use the back of a spoon to press down on the kataifi dough to make it compact, and even. Set aside ideally for a few hours at room temperature before making the custard filling. You can even leave it overnight. See Recipe Note.

To make the apple pie custard filling

Cut your apples into small chunks. Place in a small pot and add the brown sugar, water, cinnamon and vanilla. Cook over medium heat, covered, for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
3 medium apples, peeled and cored, 3 tbsp brown sugar, 2 tbsp water, ½ tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp vanilla
In a large pot combine the milk, Jotis vanilla pudding, butter, sugar and vanilla powder.
1½ liters milk, 8 tbsp Jotis vanilla pudding mix, ⅔ cup sugar, 3 tbsp butter, ½ tsp vanilla powder
In a small bowl whisk together the eggs so that the yolks and eggs whites are well combined. Add into the pot with the milk.
7 large eggs
Bring the heat up to medium and cook your custard for approximately 10 minutes or until thickened. After 8 minutes or so, add in the cooked apples and all the liquid in the pot. Continue to stir constantly with a whisk for a few more minutes (for a total of about 10 minutes). It is important to whisk constantly during this time to prevent the custard from burning.
Once your custard is thickened, pour it over the syrup-soaked kataifi. Spread it evenly over the kataifi. Place in the refrigerator for at least 2 to 3 hours until the custard is set. See Recipe Note.

To make the whipped topping

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or using a hand held mixer) combine the whipping cream, icing sugar and alcohol or apple juice. Whip until you can create peaks with the cream. Spread evenly over the cooled and set custard filling. In a small bowl combine the chopped walnuts with the ground cinnamon. Sprinkle the nuts over the whipped cream. Return to refrigerator to set for at least 30 minutes before serving.
500 ml heavy whipped cream, 2 tbsp icing sugar, 2 tbsp apple brandy, ½ cup crushed walnuts, ¼ tsp cinnamon

Notes

Preparing your kataifi dough: Kataifi is usually sold as a compact mass; you need to pull it apart in order to make it fluffy and for the individual thin strands to be separated out. Use your hands to pull it apart so that you don't have any compact clumps of kataifi left. Do not worry about tearing it!

When pouring the syrup over the hot kataifi pastry be sure that the syrup is at room temperature or slightly warm - not cold. If you use a glass baking pan the way I do, too extreme a temperature difference can break your pan.

Allow the kataifi and syrup to sit for a few hours at room temperature. You want all of the syrup to be absorbed by the kataifi dough and to set before adding the custard.

Remove moisture from custard - After chilling your custard you may find that there is some water from condensation that has accumulated on its surface. This is most likely to happen if you covered your still warm custard before placing it in the refrigerator. Use paper towels to gently dab the surface of your custard to remove the moisture before adding the whipped topping.

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