Ek Mek

Cook Time 45 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

Base
375g kataifi pastry, available from Sweet Greek or delis
50g unsalted butter, melted

Sugar Syrup
1 cup caster sugar
1 cup water

Custard
5 pellets Masticha Chios available from Sweet Greek or Greek delis
500ml milk
5 egg yolks
125g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
40g cornflour

150ml pouring cream
1 tsp icing sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
Toasted crushed walnuts and pistachios, to serve

Take the kataifi pastry out to thaw approximately 30 minutes before beginning this recipe.

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced, and line a baking tray with baking paper.

To make the custard, grind the Masticha Chios into a powder in a mortar and pestle and add to a large saucepan with the milk over low-medium heat and cook until little bubbles start to appear. Remove from heat.

In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla until pale and the sugar has dissolved. Mix the cornflour with about a tablespoon of the warm milk to make a paste then add that to the egg and sugar mixture.

Pour the remaining milk, in a very slow stream, into the egg mixture, whisking continuously. Once the milk is fully combined, strain the custard through a fine strainer into a clean saucepan and return to a low-medium heat. Whisk continuously to form a beautiful, velvety custard. Remove from the heat and pour into a clean bowl. Cover with cling wrap to prevent a skin forming, and refrigerate until cool.

To make the base, remove the kataifi pastry from the packet and tease the threads apart. Take a portion of kataifi and shape it into a disc that will fit into the base of the serving glass, using the glass as a guide. Each disc should be approximately 1.5cm thick. Repeat to make 4 discs.

Place the discs on the prepared baking tray. Dab a little melted butter over each disc using a pastry brush. Be careful not to overdo it. Bake until golden brown and crispy, about 8 minutes. Remove to cool.

To make the sugar syrup, combine the sugar and water in a medium saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes until the sugar has dissolved.

In a bowl, whisk the cream with sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy.

To assemble, layer the cooled kataifi discs into the base of a serving glass, drizzle some sugar syrup over it, then place the custard on top, and finish with the whipped cream and crushed nuts.