GREEK SWEETS RECIPES

SWEET HOSPITALITY

Anyone exploring the land of the Greeks with their taste buds alert will soon or later encounter the sweet side of life. Not only  are sweet tastes allowed as a matter of course during fasting periods, they also play a major role in all aspects of daily life, both within one's own family and neighboring families. Fruit and even some vegetable varieties, feature very prominently in this respect, preserved in sugar or honey syrup according to the same recipe.

When Greeks visit friends, they do not often take flowers as a present. Instead, they take one of those mysterious cardboard boxes, whose contents never remain secret for long. The bottom of the box soon gives way to a sweet stickiness, especially if it is filled with syrup cakes. Among the choicest of syrup cakes is galaktoboureko, a delicious confection puff pastry, filled with a custard made of milk, semolina, sugar and eggs. As with all puff pastry cakes, galaktoboureko can either be served while still warm or chilled, with coffee or a refreshing drink.

Baklavas. Relations between the Greeks and the Turks have no means always been harmonious - to put it mildly. Even so, there are certain things on which sweet consensus exists, like baklava for example. In the original Turkish version, so-called yufka-leaves, from which borek (pastry pockets) and katmer (puff pastry dainties) were made, formed the basic pastry. The Greeks use fillo pastry which is rolled out as thinly as you could possibly imagine and filled, according to preference, with finely chopped walnuts, pistachio nuts, or almonds. This type of confectionery now occupies a firm place in traditional Greek cuisine, not just a dessert but as a little nourishing snack to go with a coffee and water. Baklavas is a must whenever you want to spoil your guests, but at the same time is a popular gift to bring to your hosts.

Preheat the oven to 375 º  F (190 ºC). Bring the milk to a boil and allow to cool. Line a baking pan about 8 x 12 inches (20 x 30 cent.) with a baking parchment and dust with flour. Arrange half the pastry in the tin, allowing plenty of overlap all around. Brush this base generously with melted butter. In a pan, beat the eggs, egg yolks, and sugar to a foam and gradually add the semolina, vanilla seeds, and the milk. Heat the mixture just enough for it begin to go creamy, while stirring continuously. Remove from the heat immediately and mix in ½ cup (100 g) butter. Pour the filling into the prepared pan, cover with the remaining sheets of pastry, fold the overlap from the base down onto it, and brush this lid with butter as before. With a sharp knife (without pressing), cut into portions and place the tin in the preheated oven. After 115 minutes, reduce the temperature to 320 ºF (160 ºC) and bake for a further 30 minutes, until the cake begins to turn a golden brown color.
Meantime, boil up the syrup of sugar, water, lemon, juice and vanilla extract, stirring continuously. Drizzle over the milk cake while this is still warm.
Tip: phyllo pastry dries out very quickly, so while you are working, lay the sheets you are not using between two kitchen towels and cover with a third towel that has been previously moistened and well wrung out. The finished cake must not be covered, otherwise the flaky pastry will not remain crisp.

Mix the walnuts or almonds with the breadcrumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Melt the butter. Preheat the oven to 350 ºF (180 ºC). Grease a shallow baking pan large enough to accommodate the sheets of pastry. Brush the pastry sheets with butter and place the first two into the baking pan. Cover the upper layer with nut filling. Lay another buttered sheet on top and cover with filling. Repeat until you have competed eight layers. Once you have added the ninth layer, cut off any excess pastry from around the edge of the baklavas. Place one final buttered layer on top and cut diamond shaped pattern into it .Sprinkle with water and bake in the center of a prepared oven for 30 - 40 minutes until golden brown.
To make the syrup, boil the sugar in 6 cups / 1½ liters of water for 5 minutes. Add the honey, cloves and cinnamon and continue to simmer. Remove the cloves and cinnamon and stir in the lemon juice. Bring the syrup to a boil, then leave to cool. Remove the confectionery from the oven and pour the syrup over it. For this stage, either the pastry should have cooled and the syrup be warm, or else the pastry should be warm and the syrup cool so that the baklavas do not become soft. Cut into diamond shapes and serve.
Tip: you can buy ready-made fillo pastry from a Greek delicatessen or from supermarkets. ( in US it can be found as phyllo or filo pastry in supermarkets). While you are working, any unused sheets of pastry should be stored between damp tea towels as it dries out very quickly.