Delicious Ravani Recipe

Ravani is a classic and delightful semolina cake soaked in a light lemon syrup.

There are so many variations of this dessert, with many adding rose water to their syrup while others use orange instead of lemon. Today we share our family favourite recipe that has been passed down over three generations.

Ingredients

  • 6 x eggs
  • 1 x cup caster sugar
  • 1 x cup fine semolina
  • 1 x cup self raising flour
  • 1 x tablespoon vanilla sugar
  • 4 x tablespoons full cream milk
  • 1 x tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 x lemon grind and juice
  • 1/4 cup pistachios (optional)

For the syrup

  • 3 x cups sugar
  • 2 x cups water
  • 1 x lemon for grind and juice
  • 1 x tablespoon honey

Method 

  • Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
  • Grease a 28cm round or square tin and line with baking paper.
  • Beat the eggs and sugar with electric mixer for 5 minutes, or until they become light and fluffy.
  • Add milk, lemon grind, vanilla sugar and mix for a few more minutes. Slowly add flour, lemon juice, semolina and baking powder and beat for another few minutes. 
  • Place in baking tin and and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
  • In the meantime, for the syrup add sugar, water, lemon juice, lemon grind and honey in a medium saucepan and simmer for 6 minutes.
  • When cake is ready, pour syrup over entire cake. 
  • Garnish with pistachios (optional).

Homemade Bougatsa Recipe

Bougatsa is a traditional Greek sweet that consists of layers of crispy filo pastry, filled with a delicious creamy custard, and dusted with cinnamon and icing sugar.

Here is our much loved family recipe, which I first shared a few years back on my former food blog Flavours & Flair.

Ingredients

  • 1 x packet filo pastry (375 grams) Insights Greece - Homemade Bougatsa Recipe
  • 250 x grams unsalted butter
  • 1 x litre full cream milk
  • 1 x cup fine semolina
  • 1 x cup caster sugar
  • 4 x eggs
  • 1 x tablespoon vanilla sugar
  • 2 x tablespoons, fresh lemon juice
  • cinnamon sugar, for dusting
  • icing sugar, for dusting

Method

  • Add 100 x grams of butter into saucepan and allow to melt on low heat. Add the semolina and stir for one minute with wooden spoon. 
  • In a separate saucepan, heat milk and add to butter and semolina mixture. Slowly add sugar and stir consistently. Allow the cream to thicken and then turn off heat.
  • In a bowl, whisk eggs and when cream has slightly cooled down, add whisked eggs into cream mixture with vanilla sugar and lemon juice. Stir quickly, so no lumps form in the cream.
  • Melt remaining butter and lightly grease large baking dish.
  • Place half the filo pastry on the bottom of the dish one by one, brushing each sheet of filo pastry with melted butter. 
  • Pour entire custard cream on top of filo and spread across entire dish.  
  • Using the rest of the filo pastry, begin placing each filo pastry on top of custard mixture, brushing each sheet again with melted butter until you have used up the entire packet.
  • Fold in the edges and make sure you brush the top filo layer with melted butter.
  • Bake in a 200 degrees (preheated oven) for 30 minutes, or until filo is golden brown.
  • Allow to slightly cool and dust with cinnamon and icing sugar to serve.  

Recipe and Images by IN+SIGHTS GREECE © (Copyright) 

Ekmek Kataifi Recipe

It’s world dessert day today! And to celebrate we are sharing our Ekmek Kataifi recipe. This is a popular Greek sweet featuring three layers of heaven- syrup drenched Kataifi (shredded pastry) on the bottom, homemade custard in the centre, and to top it off- a layer of fresh cream sprinkled with flaked almonds and pistachios!

 

Ingredients

375 x grams Kataifi (shredded pastry)

200 x grams butter, extra for greasing

For the syrup

3 x cups sugar

2 x cups water

1 x tablespoon lemon juice

1 x cinnamon stick

Insights Greece - Ekmek Kataifi Recipe

For the custard

6 x egg yolks

6 x cups full cream milk

1 x cup sugar

7 x tablespoons semolina

1 x tablespoon corn flour

1 x teaspoon vanilla sugar

For fresh cream

600ml thickened cream

2 x tablespoons icing sugar

1 x tablespoon pure vanilla extract

almond flakes & crushed pistachios, for garnishing

Method

– Preheat oven to 170 degrees celsius.

– Tear apart kataifi pastry with your hands.

– Grease baking dish with butter and spread the kataifi over the base of dish, fluffing it up as you go.

– Melt butter and pour over kataifi. Bake for 25 minutes or until a very light golden colour. 

-Take out of oven and allow to completely cool.

-In the meantime to make the syrup, add all ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for around 6 minutes or until it becomes syrup like in texture.

-Once kataifi has completely cooled down, pour over syrup. 

-To make custard, place egg yolks and sugar in a heavy saucepan and mix with a hand mixer until sugar has completely dissolved. Add in the corn flour, vanilla sugar, semolina and milk. Stir well and place on low heat and cook until mixture becomes thick and creamy. Stir constantly and make sure it doesn’t boil.

-Allow custard to cool down and then pour over the layer of kataifi and allow it to completely cool.

-At this point, you can place it in the refrigerator overnight and make the fresh cream the day after.

-To make the final layer, place cream, icing sugar and vanilla into bowl and mix with hand mixer until it becomes completely thick and stiff.

-Place over cooled custard and garnish with almonds and pistachios. Place in fridge until serving. 

*Recipe and Images by IN+SIGHTS GREECE © (Copyright) 

Classic Mosaiko Recipe

Mosaiko is a mouthwatering Greek “no bake cake” that will definitely become a favourite go-to recipe when entertaining- as it can be prepared a day ahead- making it the perfect dessert when hosting! 

Ingredients 

  • 250 x grams Petit Beurre biscuits
  • 150 x grams unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 250 x grams dark chocolate, extra for garnishing
  • 110 x grams icing sugar
  • 200 x grams walnuts, chopped
  • 1 x cup full cream milk
  • 3 x tablespoons liqueur, of your choice

Method 

  • Cut dark chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl.
  • Place milk in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
  •  Pour hot milk into the bowl with dark chocolate and stir with a wooden spoon until the chocolate has completely melted. Set aside.
  •  Cut butter into a few small pieces and place in a large bowl with icing sugar. Whisk together with a hand mixer, till butter becomes fluffy and is well combined with icing sugar.
  • Crumble biscuits into butter mixture and also add walnuts and liqueur.
  • Pour over melted chocolate and combine all ingredients until chocolate has covered entire biscuits and walnuts.
  • Pour mixture into a cling wrap lined rectangle baking tin and cover entire cake with cling wrap.
  • Place in fridge (not freezer) for 4 hours to set.
  •  Take out of fridge and place on serving plate.
  • Grate dark chocolate pieces on top of cake and serve.

*Recipe and Image by IN+SIGHTS GREECE © (Copyright)

Ultimate Foodie Guide to Kolonaki: Cafes & Patisseries

Sure, you’ve got a lot to see, do and buy as you casually stroll the elegant streets of Kolonaki, but to experience the true magic of this famed Athenian neighbourhood you need to check out the cool cafes, trendy bars and classy restaurants.

So, to make your life easier, we’ve come up with the ultimate guide to eating and drinking your way around this ultra-chic district. We suggest you do yourself a favour and just bookmark this list.

Part Four | Coffee & Sweets

Da Capo

Kolonaki’s most famous café is Da Capo, an Italian-style coffee shop with green vintage seats facing outwards, making it the ideal spot for people watching. Here you will find a mix of locals, socialites, celebrities and politicians sipping on the specially blended coffee for hours on end.

Portatif Cafe 

There’s no shortage of charm in this neighbourhood thanks to places such as Portatif Café. With its French inspired décor and feel, they are renowned for their homemade tarts, croissants and eclairs- plus a variety of tea and good coffee- making it the ideal spot for an afternoon pick me up.

Filion

If you would like to rub shoulders with local artists and intellects, head to Filion, where you will overhear plenty of conversation regarding politics, the arts, history and culture. Apart from the good coffee, they also have a great variety of homemade desserts from traditional Greek sweets to French inspired pastries.

LowCal

LowCal opens its doors each day at 7am, so if you are in need of a caffeine hit bright and early- this is of you. Serving healthy dishes and sweets, the modern all- day café has a cool industrial feel, with lots of wooden and metal finishes.

Cultivos

Having only opened its doors in January of this year, Cultivos has already become a hit amongst locals who come here morning, noon and night to enjoy the chilled vibe, great coffee and nice range of sweets, sandwiches and light snacks.

Queen Bee

Queen Bee is an all-day bakehouse. Set in a stylish 1940s art deco building, it’s been given a major redesign with a focus on the sleek open kitchen. The elegantly displayed handmade products include sourdough, croissants, cinnamon buns and pies.

Kokakias Pastry

If you don’t have time to sit down for a coffee and cake but are in need of a sugar hit, walk inside Kokakias Pastry store where you will be blown away by the gorgeous displays of decadent desserts, gelato and handmade chocolates that will be placed in pretty packaging so you can take away and enjoy.

Sweet Alchemy

Greece’s most popular pâtissier Stelios Paralios has a small boutique store Sweet Alchemy on Irodotou Street, where you can taste one of his delightful creations. With a wide range of chocolate truffles, handmade biscuits and a variety of Stelios’ famous cakes- deciding what to choose here is not easy! 

Marega Apo Spiti

For the best meringues in town head to Marega Apo Spiti where you can indulge in an airy and creamy pavlova topped with fresh strawberry, lemon, or other fresh berries of your choice. If pavlova doesn’t do it for you, try the delicious homemade cheesecake or chocolate mousse!

To discover the best places in Kolonaki for Brunch, Lunch, Dinner, and Drinks check out our guides here. 

Why You Can’t Leave Chania Until You Try Bougatsa Iordanis

For close to 100 years, people from all over the world have been visiting Bougatsa Iordanis in the heart of Chania’s city centre, so they can get a mouthful of this crispy and creamy Cretan delicacy!

The famous bakery is now in the hands of the fourth generation of Iordanis’ descendants with the grandson, his children, and wife Ioanna in the shop every day proudly serving loyal customers and global visitors, who want to experience the unique and fresh taste they can only find here.

Opening its doors for the first time in 1924, Iordanis still remains authentic, simple, and rustic in the year 2020- with a few tables inside and views to the kitchen out the back- here you will enjoy their exceptional delicacy served on a simple aluminum plate.

Although Bougatsa can be found all over Greece- what makes this delicacy so special is the cheese that is used to fill the pastry. Most bakeries serve their Bougatsa with a sweet custard in the centre, however, Iordanis prepare their filling using a local Chaniot mizithra (Cretan ricotta cheese) namely Pichtoggalo Chanion Cheese PDO, which is produced from goat’s or sheep’s milk, giving it a slightly sour flavour.

“We haven’t changed the family recipe since the early 1920s. We have kept it the same as everyone loves it. We also make a custard version but again ours is unique as we use oil instead of butter, which enhances the taste,” says Ioanna. 

A: Apokoronou 24, Chania

Opening Hours: Monday to Friday: 6 am to 2:30 pm | Sunday: 6 am to 1:30 pm

*Images by IN+SIGHTS GREECE © (Copyright) 

Recipe for Grape Spoon Sweet

Glyko tou Koutaliou (spoon sweet) is Greece’s traditional homemade fruit preserve that is served after a meal or with coffee.

It can be stored for months in sterilised jars, which means you always have a delicious homemade treat on hand.

You can make it using quince, pear, lemons, and other fruit. Here we share my mum’s grape sweet spoon recipe, which tastes amazing on its own or you may prefer to pair it with a dollop of vanilla bean ice cream, yoghurt, or flaked almonds.

Ingredients

1 kilo seedless grapes (red or white)

500 grams white sugar

1/2 cup of water

1/2 lemon, juiced

2 x leaves of Arbaroriza (lemon geranium)

Method

-Remove grapes from the stem and wash thoroughly. Dry and set aside.

-Place sugar and water in a large pot over high heat and bring to a full boil (about 10 minutes).

-Add your grapes and allow to simmer. Add Arbaroriza leaves and reduce heat to medium and cook for about an hour, uncovered. Stir occasionally.

-After about an hour, when the syrup has thickened, add the lemon juice and stir. Cook for another few minutes.

-Allow to completely cool.

-Spoon into sterilised jars with airtight lids and store in a cool place.

Insights Greece - Recipe for Grape Spoon Sweet

Images by IN+SIGHTS GREECE © (Copyright)  

Greek Yogurt Cheesecake Recipe

Greek yoghurt cheesecake mousse incorporates all the elements of a classic cheesecake however it has a delightful Greek twist.

In the base, Kelly from The Hellenic Odyssey adds some typical nuts of the Greek cuisine such as almonds and walnuts which add another intensity of flavour and crunch to the base.

“It is basically a cheesecake meets mousse meets Greek yoghurt. It is so light and airy due to the use of the swiss meringue instead of condensed milk which is commonly used,” says Kelly.

Ingredients

Base

200g sweet plain biscuit crumbs

50g almonds and walnuts coarse crumb mix

150g butter, melted

Filling

500g block cream cheese softened

2 egg whites

125ml thickened cream

150g sugar (75g for swiss meringue & 75g for whipped cream)

125g thick Greek yoghurt

1/3 cup lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla essence or vanilla sugar

Method

-Combine biscuits, crumbs and butter and press into the base of a 20cm springform pan. Chill for 10 minutes.

-Beat the cream cheese using an electric mixer until it becomes smooth.

-Whip the cream and 75g of the sugar to stiff peaks.

-Beat the eggs whites and sugar over a bain-marie until the mix reaches 70 degrees and then set it aside.

-Add the yoghurt to the whipped cream mixture and stir to combine, then add the cream cheese, lemon juice and the vanilla and stir well to combine. Finally, add the swiss meringue but make sure to combine it gently and very carefully so that it still remains airy.

For more amazing recipes check out The Hellenic Odyssey and follow them here on Instagram.