The Greeks have many desserts up their sleeves using the best of local citrusy flavors to the Turkish-influenced sweets and desserts which uses phyllo pastry. In this article, we will venture into the easier ones from a very simple local cheesecake, or honey cake to a rice pudding that is a staple in Greek desserts. Local honey, cheese, and wheat have been enriching Greek cuisine for a long time, and now you can have a taste of them too by trying their simple dessert recipes.
1. Melopita
(Makes 8 servings)
- 600 gm fresh ricotta cheese
- 100 ml honey
- 3 eggs
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
For drizzling:
- 60 ml honey
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, and grease an 8-inch springform pan.
- Take a big bowl, and add the ricotta cheese, honey, eggs, cornstarch, and vanilla extract.
- Whisk all the ingredients until they form a smooth, lump-free batter.
- Pour it into the greased pan and give the pan a little shake to even out the top.
- Slide that pan into the preheated oven.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes, the top will turn a beautiful golden brown, and the center will barely jiggle when you give the pan a gentle shake.
- Take out the cake, let it sit in the pan for five minutes, demold, drizzle with honey, followed by a dusting of ground cinnamon, and serve.
2. Rizogalo
(Makes 6 servings)
Ingredients
- 475 ml water
- 100 gm short-grain rice
- 600 ml milk, divided
- 50 gm sugar
- 60 gm cornstarch
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Grab a saucepan, and bring water and rice to a boil.
- As soon as it boils, turn down the heat and let it cook uncovered, stirring now and then. By the 30-minute mark, the rice will be nice and soft and most of the water will evaporate.
- Pour in 475 ml of milk and sugar, and increase the heat, boiling the mixture, while stirring constantly.
- Take a bowl, and whisk the remaining milk and cornstarch. Mix it until smooth.
- Once your milky rice is boiling, pour the cornstarch slurry and vanilla extract. Stir to combine.
- Take the pan off the heat. Your rizogalo should be thick and creamy now.
- Grab six serving bowls and divide the rice pudding equally among them.
- Sprinkle each bowl with a pinch of cinnamon. Let the rizogalo cool down to room temperature. This should take about 30 minutes.
- Once cool, pop them in the fridge and chill for three to four hours before serving.
3. Greek Honey Cake
(Makes 12 servings)
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 125 gm all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 170 gm butter, softened
- 150 gm white sugar
- 3 eggs
- 60 ml milk
- 100 gm chopped walnuts
For the syrup:
- 200 gm sugar
- 340 gm honey
- 175 ml water
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and flour a 9-inch square baking pan.
- Take a bowl, and whisk flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and orange zest. Set aside.
- Take a big bowl, and beat butter and 150 grams of sugar using an electric mixer. Beat for 3-5 minutes until the mixture is light.
- Add the eggs to the butter mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk. Mix until just incorporated after each addition. Do not overmix. Fold in the chopped walnuts.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, spreading it evenly.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Take a saucepan, and add honey, sugar, and water. Bring it to a simmer over medium heat, for 5 minutes. Add lemon juice, increase the heat, and let it boil for 2 minutes.
- Once the cake is out of the oven, let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then, while it's still warm, cut it into diamond shapes.
- Slowly pour that warm syrup all over the cake and let it soak.