Almond cream kadaif
Based on grandmother’s recipe for “Cream baklava”
Ingredients:
350-400 g of fresh raw kadaif (or 1 packet filo pastry)
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup ground almonds (or walnuts)
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 dose vanilla
1 tablespoon orange blossom water (optional)
125 g of butter
60 g flaked almonds (or chopped walnuts)
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon orange zest (or lemon)
1-2 tablespoons of orange juice (or lemon)
Preparation:
Place the kadaif on the work plan and divide it in two. Spread half of it in a thick layer in a rectangular baking dish (25-35 cm).
In a bowl, cream the eggs and sugar until they double in volume. Then add the almond powder (or walnuts) and the sifted flour with the baking powder. Flavor at taste. In my case, vanilla and orange blossom water. Pour the resulting thick and sticky mixture on the kadaif layer. Smooth evenly.
Spread the rest of the kadaif over the almond cream. If you use filo pastry instead of kadaif (making a baklava, in this case), it is not necessary to brush the sheets with butter when overlapping them. By cons, you need to precut the already assembled cake into squares or rhombs.
Melt and heat up the butter, then pour it evenly over the kadaif (or baklava). Generously sprinkle with flaked almonds and bake the dessert between 20 and 30 minutes at 180°C until golden and appetizing. Cool completely.
In a saucepan, bring two cups of water, the sugar, orange juice and zest to the boil. Cook for 10-15 minutes and until the syrup is still hot, pour it evenly over the cold kadaif. Let rest for a few hours before cutting and serving the dessert.
