Ek Mek Kataifi
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes + overnight setting
Servings 12
Ingredients
Syrup:
400g sugar
400g water
Vanilla bean extract
Juice of ½ lemon
Kataifi:
1 packet 375g kataifi pastry
1 cup toasted almonds ground
150g clarified butter
Custard:
2 L milk
10 tbsp cornflour
Vanilla bean extract
2 ½ cups sugar
8 egg yolks
50g butter
½ tsp salt
Topping:
600ml thickened cream
Vanilla bean
2 tbsp sugar
2 cups toasted almonds ground roughly
Method
For the syrup, combine water and sugar in a saucepan and stir to dissolve the sugar. Boil for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat. Add the lemon juice and then set aside to cool completely.
Take the kataifi out of the fridge and allow it to soften to room temperature.
Preheat your oven to 160°C fan-forced. To make the base, remove kataifi from the packet, and tease the threads apart until they are nice and loose.
Melt the butter and pour over the kataifi. Using your hands, mix in the butter thoroughly to ensure that all the kataifi is well coated with butter. Spread evenly into baking tray and bake until golden brown and crispy. It needs approx. 40 minutes to 1 hour.
Once out of the oven, pour cold syrup onto hot kataifi. Set aside to allow it to soak it all up, then once cool, sprinkle with almonds.
Start the custard by adding the sugar and eggs to a large heatproof bowl, whisk until creamy and white. Then add in cornstarch and salt and mix through.
Pour 2 litres of milk into a saucepan and heat until bubbles form on the side. Gradually pour in about 2 cups of the hot milk into the egg mixture to temper it – don’t stop whisking and add in very slowly so the eggs don’t cook. Add vanilla bean paste.
Add egg and milk mixture back into the pan, constantly whisking until it thickens. Once thickened, take off the heat. Add butter and whisk in. Pour custard immediately over kataifi pastry.
Take a sheet of cling wrap and cover custard to prevent a crust from forming. Allow it to set overnight in the fridge.
For the topping when ready to serve, whip the cold cream plus sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form. Spread over the kataifi and sprinkle with grated almonds.