Mixing Bowl

Tarmo Hannula

SHREDDED WHEAT Here’s a very sweet and unusual adaptation of a Middle Eastern dessert, kataifi.

Sweet, sweet Kataifi

By SARAH RINGLER

The inaccessibility of one of the main ingredients inspired this unusual North American version of an intriguing Middle Eastern dessert—similar to baklava—made of rolls of shredded wheat drenched in a sweet syrup called kataifi.

This is a recipe I have been sitting on for almost 50 years. Looking through my recipe box the other day, I came across it at the same time that we had a box of Shredded Wheat cereal in the cupboard.

The shredded wheat used in the authentic Middle Eastern version is actually shredded filo dough. Margo Oliver, who for many years edited the “Food and Drink” section of the Canadian Weekend Magazine, and was known as the “Betty Crocker” of Canada, came up with this adaptation using Shredded Wheat cereal. It does not hold together as well as baklava or authentically made kataifi, but it is crunchy, very sweet and easier to make than baklava. You might have to have a particular attraction to Shredded Wheat, which I have, to appreciate it.

Many Middle Eastern desserts are made in a similar manner with baked dough and nuts covered in a sweet syrup and left to sit until the syrup is absorbed. These fake kataifi are fragile and crumble easily. I refrigerated my leftovers and that helped them to better hold their shape.

Shredded Wheat Dessert

Filling:

9 shredded wheat biscuits 1 1/2 cups toasted and chopped almonds, walnuts or pistachios 5 tablespoons butter, softened 6 tablespoons olive oil

Syrup:

1 cup white sugar 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1/4 cup honey 1/2 cup water 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 2 tablespoons orange water – optional

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square cake pan. When the oven is hot, put the almonds, walnut pieces or pistachio pieces on a cookie tin and toast for about 5 minutes. Remove from cookie tin and cool. Chop into small pieces.

Put the shredded wheat biscuits on the same cookie tin. Spread the tops and bottoms with about 5 tablespoons of softened butter. Then sprinkle with the olive oil. Toast in the oven for 10 minutes. About half way, turn them over. When slightly brown and crisp, remove from the oven to cool.

When cool, crumble 4 1/2 of the biscuits into the bottom of the 8-inch pan. Put the toasted and chopped nuts over the biscuits. Crumbled the rest of the biscuits on top of the nuts.

Make the syrup by bringing white sugar, brown sugar, honey, water, salt and butter to a boil. Boil for about a minute. Remove from heat and add lemon juice, orange water or more lemon juice. Remove from heat and pour over the biscuits. With a sharp knife lightly cut into the tops and make squares so syrup can soak in. Set at room temperature for three hours. Completely cut into squares and serve. Keeps in a tin for several days and also can be refrigerated.