Greek for Desserts
My love for everything Greek happened even before I met my husband, who has a Greek mother and an Italian dad. As a travel agent, I was lucky enough to escort a group on a Greek Island cruise. If you ever have the opportunity to go, please do. The Greeks are some of the nicest people I've ever met when travelling. And then there's the Greek Islands, you think you've seen blue water? You'll never see bluer water than in the Aegian.
Glykismata, Greek desserts and pastries, are usually made with a combination (or any one) of honey, nuts, custards and filo. Filo, also spelled fillo and phyllo, is a light, flaky, paper thin pastry made with layers of butter. These wonderful desserts are served for special occasions. These occasions can range from someone just coming to the home or a great celebration like a wedding. The below recipe is one of my favorite Greek pastries. The recipe came from my mother-in-law who wrote at the bottom of the recipe "We serve it before the meal." After the recipe, I've added some wonderful Greek recipe as well as other interesting links.
Kali Oreksi! (Bon Appetit!)
my mother-in-law's Greek Nut Cake recipe
cake ingredients -
14 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 pound almond meats, ground
2 1/2 cup toasted bread crumbs
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon vanilla
cinnamon
Beat eggs, add sugar with egg beater. Add baking powder and vanilla. Mix half of the almonds with bread crumbs, rub together between palms. Add a little at a time to other mixture. Grease a 14 inch, 2 inch deep pan. Pour mixture into pan, top with rest of almonds. Sprinkle cinnamon over all. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the syrup.
syrup ingredients -
3 cups sugar
3 cups water
a few whole cloves
juice of 1 lemon
Boil until mixture slightly thickens.
When cake is done, remove from oven and cut vertical slits in cake approximately 2 inches apart. Then cut diagonal slits. Pour syrup over it and let soak until cool.
Greek/Middle Eastern Cuisine
Megan Segatore is our guide to more great Greek foods.
Greece for Visitors
deTraci Regula, an About guide like me, has a wonderful site with everything you wanted to know about Greece.
