Kadaifi Me Krema (Greek Shredded Wheat Pastry With Custard) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

Custard
4 cups milk
1 pinch salt
3/4 cup semolina (cream of wheat)
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs, beaten to blend
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pastry
1 lb kadaifi, thawed if frozen (shredded pastry)
3/4 cup butter, melted
Syrup
2 cups sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 1/2 cups water
3 teaspoons lemon juice
1 strip fresh lemon rind

Preparation

For custard: combine milk and semolina in a heavy pan; blend in beaten eggs and add salt and sugar; place over medium heat and stir constantly until thickened and bubbling; remove from heat, stir in butter and vanilla extract and cover top of custard with plastic wrap (directly on surface of custard) to prevent a skin from forming.
For pastry: place kadaifi in a large bowl and gently separate strands with fingers.
Grease 13 x 9 inch glass oven dish with some of the.
butter; put half the kadaifi in the base, pressing it down somewhat to make it compact; drizzle 1/4 cup butter evenly over it; pour custard filling over kadtaifi, spreading it evenly; top with remaining kadaifi; spread evenly and pat down gently; pour remaining melted butter evenly over top.
Bake in a preheated 375\u00b0F oven for 45 minutes until golden-brown; remove from oven and cool completely.
For syrup: dissolve sugar in water over medium heat, add lemon rind and cinnamon stick and bring to the boil; add lemon juice and boil over medium heat for 15 minutes, skimming when necessary; do not stir once syrup is boiling; strain hot syrup over cooled pastry; leave until cold and cut into diamond shapes to serve.