There aren’t enough words to explain how much our whole family loves this dessert! This dessert makes it around our table for almost every occasion and there’s no question why. There’s a famous café in Nafplion, Greece where they make the absolute BEST Ekmek! It’s about 4 hours from our home, so it’s quite the trek – but it’s well worth the drive! I tried to make the closest thing, and I hope you enjoy this one as much as we do!
Ekmek
Ingredients
Phyllo Base
- Shredded Phyllo OR Shredded Wheat
- 1 lb unsalted butter, melted
Syrup
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cups water
- 2 tsp honey
Custard
- 4 cups whole milk
- 4 tbsp cornstarch
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
Topping
- 1 L whipping cream (33% or 36%)
- ½ cup icing sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup sliced almonds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Separate the shredded phyllo and spread it over a 9×13 pan. If using shredded wheat, crumble over the pan and drizzle the melted butter over the phyllo or shredded wheat.
- The shredded base will shrink when it bakes, so don’t be afraid to put it to about 1/3 of the way up the pan.
- Bake at 375F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
- While it’s baking, make the syrup by adding all the ingredients in a medium pot and boiling on medium heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the syrup thickens.
- Set aside and let it cool.
- Make the custard by adding the whole milk to a large pot and heat it over medium/high heat until the milk starts to boil.
- Stir consistently so that the milk doesn’t burn to the bottom of the pot!
- Separate the eggs and scramble the yolks. Add about ¾ cup of the hot milk to the egg yolks to bring them to temperature, then whisk them into the pot of custard.
- Add the vanilla, then continue to stir until it’s thickened.
- Transfer to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the fridge to cool for approximately 1 hour.
- Take the phyllo or shredded wheat base, drizzle the syrup over the whole pan, then set in the fridge to cool along with the custard for about 1 hour.
- In the meantime, make the whipped topping and garnish.
- Heat a small pan over high heat and and add the sliced almonds.
- Τoss them around with a wooden spoon until they become lightly toasted.
- Take them off the pan immediately to prevent burning and set them aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, add the whipping cream and sugar.
- Mix on high until the cream begins to thicken.
- Add the vanilla and keep mixing until it becomes a bit more stiff, but not over mixed.
- Take the base and custard out of the fridge and start to assemble the Ekmek by spreading the custard over the base.
- Top with the whipped cream and sprinkle the almonds over the top.
- Serve and enjoy!
Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @yiamaswithyiayia on Instagram and hashtag it #yiamaswithyiayia.