Traditional island festive sweet

Turkish Cypriot Ekmek kadeyifi (Bread kadeyif)

This recipe is for a pair of circular rusks which can be bought from a Turkish Cypriot bakery in one packet. The rusks will expand a lot, one will go on the bottom, the other on top, with fresh unsalted nor (anari) cheese and almonds as the fillings. It will serve eight people.

This is a quick and easy way of preparing the pudding (it can also be cooked in a pan over a stove but this can cause the bottom to burn and stick to the pan).

This is a low sugar version for better health. This means that this kadeyif needs to be eaten within a few days while it’s fresh as it will not last as long as a heavily sweetened version.

For the syrup

1.5 litres of water

400g of sugar

5 tablespoons citrus blossom water

Juice of half a lemon

For the almond filling (optional)

1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon

50g almonds (with skin) each roughly chopped in half

For cream cheese filling

20g of sugar

500g fresh fridge-cooled unsalted anari or ricotta cheese

To decorate

Boiled and skinned pistachios and vertically halved blanched almonds for decoration

Few pomegranate seeds

Mix cool water, sugar, lemon, blossom water in a bowl with a wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved, forming a light syrup.

Pour half the syrup mix in a large and deep Pyrex dish (or baking tray) about 30 centimetres wide, allowing a few centimetres for the expansion of the rusk. Do the same for the second rusk. If you only have one dish or tray, you can cook each rusk one at a time.

Put each rusk in the cold syrup for about 10 minutes so it soaks and expands.

Cover each dish with tin foil and put them in an oven at 200C and cook for 30 minutes. Swap dishes round half way through so the rusks cook the same amount. All the juices should be absorbed but the texture should remain soft and spongy. Be careful not to let rusks stick to the bottom.

Leave the dishes in a cool place to cool right down to fridge temperature

Slide off the first rusk into a large attractive plate that’s not too flat (to hold any juices)

Mix almonds and cinnamon and spread on the rusk

Mix sugar and cheese and spread over the almonds with a palette knife

Carefully slide the second soaked rusk over the cream cheese filling

Decorate on top with pistachio nuts, almonds and pomegranate seeds

Serve cooled. Bon apetit! Afiyet olsun! Kalin orexi!