This authentic Greek Kataifi recipe brings the magic of Mediterranean pastry right to your kitchen! A delightful dessert featuring crispy shredded phyllo dough, filled with a sweet nut mixture and drizzled with honey syrup.
In just 90 minutes, you’ll create 22 irresistible rolls that perfectly balance delicate textures with rich flavors.
Each heavenly bite delivers 297 calories of pure indulgence, making it an ideal treat for special occasions or when you want to impress guests with your international baking skills.
Ingredients
- Kataifi Dough: 450g (16 oz.) of delicate shredded phyllo dough strands
- Walnuts: 250g (9 oz.), perfect for rich nutty filling
- Spices: 1 tsp ground cinnamon and a pinch of ground clove for warmth
- Butter: 250g (9 oz.) cow’s milk butter, melted for crispy texture
For the Syrup
- Sugar: 450g (16 oz.), creates the perfect sweet coating
- Water: 330g (12 oz.), for balanced consistency
- Aromatics: 1 lemon peel and 1 cinnamon stick for enhanced flavor
Instructions
- Prepare Syrup: Combine sugar, water, lemon peel, and cinnamon stick in a pot. Bring to boil until sugar dissolves. Set aside to cool completely.
- Make Filling: Pulse walnuts, clove, and cinnamon in a blender until roughly chopped. Feel free to add pistachios or almonds for variation.
- Prep Pan: Brush your baking pan (26-28cm) with melted butter thoroughly.
- Work the Dough: Carefully unroll kataifi dough, gently separate strands for fluffiness. Keep covered with damp towel.
- Shape Rolls: Take portions of dough, brush with butter, add filling, and roll into tight cylinders. Place in pan side by side.
- Baking: Bake at 170-180C for 1 hour until golden and crispy.
- Add Syrup: Pour 3/4 of cold syrup over hot kataifi. Wait 10 minutes, then add remaining syrup.
- Serve: Pair with vanilla ice cream for a delightful dessert experience!
Cooking Techniques
The magic of kataifi lies in getting those delicate strands just right! Keep your kataifi dough covered with a damp towel while working – this stops it from drying out.
When rolling the pieces, use gentle hands and don’t squeeze too tight. A light touch helps keep the texture airy and crispy.
The butter is your best friend here – be generous when brushing it on, as it helps create those wonderfully crispy layers.
Variations
While walnuts are traditional, you can mix up your filling with other nuts! Try adding pistachios or almonds to the walnut mixture – they bring amazing flavor and crunch.
For a sweeter touch, add a tiny sprinkle of orange zest to your nut filling. Some home cooks love adding a drop of rose water to the syrup for a lovely Middle Eastern twist. If you prefer less sweet desserts, you can cut the syrup amount by one-third.
Serving Suggestions
These golden, crispy rolls shine best when served warm or at room temperature. While vanilla ice cream is a perfect match, you might also love them with a dollop of Greek yogurt for a tangy contrast.
For a lovely presentation, dust your plate with a little cinnamon and arrange 2-3 rolls with your chosen topping. A small drizzle of honey and a few chopped nuts on top make it extra special!
Storage Tips
Once cooled, put your kataifi rolls in an airtight container. They’ll stay crispy at room temperature for 2-3 days. If you want to keep them longer, pop them in the fridge for up to a week.
Just remember – they taste best when you bring them back to room temperature before eating. To refresh stored rolls, warm them in a 300°F oven for 5-10 minutes – they’ll crisp right up!
Homemade Kataifi
Equipment
- Baking pan
- Blender
- Cooking brush
Ingredients
For the kataifi
- 450 g kataifi dough (16 oz.)
- 250 g walnuts, roughly chopped (9 oz.)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch ground clove
- 250 g butter from cow’s milk (9 oz.)
For the syrup
- 450 g sugar (16 oz.)
- 330 g water (12 oz.)
- 1 whole lemon peel
- 1 whole cinnamon stick
Instructions
- To make this Kataifi recipe, start by preparing the syrup. Add all the ingredients for the syrup into a small pot and bring to the boil. As soon as the sugar has dissolved, the syrup is ready. Leave the syrup aside to cool completely.
- Prepare the filling for the Kataifi. In a blender add the walnuts, ground clove and cinnamon; pulse until the walnuts are roughly chopped (not powdered). Although the walnut filling is the most common, lots of kataifi recipes also add pistachios and almonds. So it’s up to you to decide.
- Melt the butter and with a cooking brush butter the bottom and sides of a baking pan. (approx. 26-28cm diameter)
- Unroll the Kataifi dough from the plastic sleeve. Work the dough with your hands, tearing apart the shreds and gently spreading the strands out a bit if they clump together, in order to get fluffy. Cover the Kataifi dough with a slightly damp towel.
- Take one piece of the kataifi dough, and spread it on a working surface or on your palm. Drizzle with melted butter and place 1 teaspoon of the filling at one end. Roll it up tightly, folding inwards the sides, to form a small cylinder. Place the kataifi roll in the pan and brush with melted butter, using the cooking brush to shape it a little bit. Repeat with the rest of the kataifi dough and filling. Place the kataifi rolls the one next to the other, leaving no gaps between them and drizzle with a little bit more butter.
- Bake the kataifi in preheated oven at 170-180C for about 1 hour (on the middle rack), until nicely coloured and crispy.
- As soon as you turn the kataifi out of the oven, ladle slowly the 3/4 of the cold syrup over the hot kataifi, enabling each ladle to be absorbed. Cover the pan with a towel and set aside for 10 minutes. Ladle the rest of the syrup over the kataifi and wait until absorbed.
- Serve this delicious kataifi dessert with a full spoon of vanilla ice-cream. Enjoy!