Ekmek kadayıfı is a
bread pudding that was historically part of
Ottoman cuisine
Ottoman cuisine is the cuisine of the Ottoman Empire and its continuation in the cuisines of Turkey, the Balkans, Caucasus, Middle East and Northern Africa.
Today, Turkish cuisine is a continuation of Ottoman cuisine.
Sources
The Ottoman pa ...
and in modern times remains part of the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire. It is usually served with
kaymak, a kind of
clotted cream
Clotted cream ( kw, dehen molys, sometimes called scalded, clouted, Devonshire or Cornish cream) is a thick cream made by heating full-cream cow's milk using steam or a water bath and then leaving it in shallow pans to cool slowly. During this t ...
. In
Turkey it is considered a regional specialty of
Afyonkarahisar.
History
Historically, as with other bread puddings, this recipe emerged as a way to utilize stale or day-old
bread
Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...
. For modern home cooks, it is a popular alternative to more demanding traditional desserts like
baklava
Baklava (, or ; ota, باقلوا ) is a layered pastry dessert made of filo pastry, filled with chopped nuts, and sweetened with syrup or honey. It was one of the most popular sweet pastries of Ottoman cuisine.
The pre- Ottoman origin of the ...
. It is served at ''
iftar'' meals during
Ramadan
, type = islam
, longtype = Religious
, image = Ramadan montage.jpg
, caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
.
Preparation
In modern times, ''ekmek kadayifi'' is sold ready made. All the cook needs to do at home to prepare the dessert is to make the sugar
syrup called ''
şerbet'' and top the finished dessert with ''
kaymak'' cream or
ice cream.
To prepare the dessert from scratch with bread, first a piece of bread is carefully hollowed out to make a
bread bowl. If the bread is too fresh it may be further dried in an oven. A dark
caramel
Caramel ( or ) is an orange-brown confectionery product made by heating a range of sugars. It can be used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, or as a topping for ice cream and custard.
The process of caramelizatio ...
''şerbet'' is poured over the prepared bread. It is important to prepare the bread correctly to maximize absorption of the ''şerbet''. When the bread has fully absorbed the ''şerbet'' it softens. The bread bowl can then be filled with ice cream before serving. The finished dessert is flipped upside down to make ice cream stuffed ''ekmek kadayif''.
Some recipes prepare it as a simple
cake
Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate, ...
made with
eggs,
flour
Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...
and
sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
. First the eggs and sugar are
whisked until the eggs are frothy, then the flour is mixed in. A little
baking powder is added as a
leavening agent. The
cream filling for the cake is made with milk,
cornstarch, flour, sugar and powdered
Crème Chantilly. When fully baked, the thin cake is cut in half like a
layer cake. ''Şerbet'' syrup is poured over the bottom layer and a layer of cream is spread between the two cake layers. The top layer is cut into slices and arranged on top of the cream. The remaining ''şerbet'' syrup is poured over the assembled cake, which is garnished with ground
pistachio
The pistachio (, ''Pistacia vera''), a member of the cashew family, is a small tree originating from Central Asia and the Middle East. The tree produces seeds that are widely consumed as food.
''Pistacia vera'' is often confused with other sp ...
and shredded
coconut
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...
. The cake is left to set in the fridge for several hours before it is ready to be served.
See also
*
List of Turkish desserts
These dishes are based on the same core ingredients, and have (confusingly) similar names, but are different:
*
Qatayef
*
Kataifi
Knafeh ( ar, كنافة) is a traditional Middle Eastern dessert made with spun pastry called ''kataifi'', soaked in a sweet, sugar-based syrup called Attar (syrup), attar, and typically layered with cheese, or with other ingredients such as clot ...
and other kinds of
kanafeh
References
*
*
Ottoman cuisine
Turkish puddings
{{Turkey-cuisine-stub