Kadaif
Kadaif is a very sweet and rich cake originating from the Middle East and the Balkans. In the traditional recipe, butter and sometimes honey is used. Kadaif is made from shredded phyllo pastry.
Ingredients
450 g vegan kadaif pastry
some vegan margarine
1,5 cups sugar
1/2-3/4 cup water
300 g walnuts, cut in smaller pieces and slightly crushed
50 g pistachios, crushed
2 tsp cinnamon
Directions
Melt the frozen dough by keeping it in room temperature for at least 1 hour. Spread oil in a baking pan with high edges. Mix walnuts with cinnamon. There are two ways to assemble the kadaif:
1) separate the dough in half (with your fingers) and spread one half evenly on the bottom of the baking pan. Sprinkle the mixture of walnuts and cinnamon on it. Spread the other half of the dough on top.
2) separate smaller pieces from the mass of dough, take some teaspoons of the walnut-cinnamon mixture and roll the piece of dough around it. Place the rolls on the baking sheet side by side.
Place small pieces of margarine on top of the cake in different places. Bake in 200 degrees Celsius until the top layer of kadaif becomes slightly golden brown. Sprinkle the crushed pistachios on top of the cake and bake a few more minutes.
While kadaif is baking, prepare the syrup. Add the sugar and water in a pot and bring the syrup to boil, stirring occasionally. Boil on low heat, until the syrup thickens. Pour the hot syrup on the kadaif, so that it would be more or less covered. Let the cake cool completely before serving.
Serves around 15. Kadaif stores well in the fridge and tastes good in the following days as well.
