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A sweet Epiphany

The annual celebration is a perfect time to take a revelatory journey through the flavors of Greece, one confection after another.

By JANET K. KEELER
Published January 4, 2006

	[Times photos: Scott Keeler]
	Pourakia pasta (poo-RAHK-yah PAH-stah) Cream-filled chocolate cake roll dipped in chocolate.
	Greek cannoli Based on the Italian dessert cannoli but using phyllo as the pastry; filled with whipped cream and almonds.
	Baklava (Bahk-lah-VAH) Layers of phyllo dough sweetened with honey and spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios).
	Clockwise from top right: Kourabiedes (koo-rah-bee-YEH-thess) Powdered-sugar-dusted almond cookie. Melomakarona or finikia (mehl-oh-MAHK-a-roh-nah or fee-NEE-kee-yah) Cinnamon and honey-dipped cookie topped with walnuts. Koulourakia or koulouria (koo-loo-RAHK-yah or koo-LURE-yah) Butter cookie with light sugar glaze, with or without sesame seeds.
	Savaren cake (sahv-ah-rahn) Sponge cake dipped in honey syrup, with whipped cream. A version of the French orange-flavored Savarin cake.
	Diples (THEE-pulls) Thin and flaky honey rolls that crumble when bitten.
	Kok (coke) Individual sponge cakes that come in various flavors including strawberry, like this one, chocolate or lemon custard and sweetened with whipped cream.
	Full coverage

Food has always been important to Greek culture, and proof of that is the cookbook written in 330 B.C. by Archestratos, gastronome and world traveler in the time of Alexander the Great.

Archestratos' record of his culinary journeys is the world's first recorded cookbook. He may have written more about fish - he favored the swordfish caught off Byzantium - than anything else, but that's because he'd never waltzed along the Sponge Docks of Tarpon Springs sampling confections dripping in honey, whipped cream and powdered sugar.

The annual Epiphany cross-diving ritual in Tarpon's Spring Bayou doesn't go back quite as far as Archestratos, but this year marks the centennial of the custom here. To celebrate, the traditional Glendi party stretches to two days to accommodate the thousands of people expected to gather. A major draw this year will be Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of 250-million Orthodox Christians worldwide, who will toss the cross into the bayou.

There will be plenty of spanakopita, moussaka and dolmades at the celebration afterward, but it'll be the sweets that draw the most interest. Greece is known for its confections, be they delicate, honey-dripping cookies or gooey cakes filled with custard and topped with piles of whipped cream.

In years past, pastries have been handmade by the women of St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral. As crowds have gotten larger, the baking duties have been turned over to professional kitchens.

This year, Hellas Bakery (785 Dodecanese Blvd.; (727) 934-8400) will bake thousands of desserts for the street fair, says owner Nick Karterouliotis.

Elaborate, sweetly layered baklava, popular in Turkey and the Mideast, is probably the most well-known confection sold at Greek bakeries. But no Greek wedding would be complete without the simple white goodness of kourabiedes and their shower of powdered sugar. Likewise Easter and the butter cookies called koulourakia.

Many of the confections pictured here will be sold at the Glendi, and those that aren't will be available in the town's bakeries. Make sure you bring your appetite for all things Greek and a basket or cooler to carry home what you can't finish.

If you pick up some inspiration along the way, grab a Greek cookbook while you're there. Try bringing some Greek cooking tradition into your own kitchen. Most ingredients are basic spices and nuts, and store-bought phyllo saves you the hardest part. Nothing ancient about a good cookie.

-- Janet K. Keeler can be reached at 727 893-8586 or krieta@sptimes.com Her blog, Stir Crazy, is www.sptimes.com/blogs/food

Kourambiedes

2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened

1 large egg yolk

2 tablespoons brandy

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for coating

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Pinch of salt

In a large bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter at high speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk, brandy and vanilla and beat until smooth.

Sift the flour with 3/4 cup of the confectioners' sugar, baking powder, cloves and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in three batches, beating at low speed just until smooth.

Scrape the dough onto a large sheet of plastic wrap or wax paper and roll into a 2-inch log.

Wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes or up to 3 days.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Unwrap the dough and roll it into a log.

Cut it into three equal pieces. Slice each piece crosswise into 12 cookies and arrange them on the prepared sheets about 1 inch apart.

Bake the cookies on the top and middle racks of the oven for 20 minutes, or until golden on the bottom; shift the sheets from top to bottom halfway through baking.

Let the cookies cool slightly on the sheets, about 15 minutes.

Pour confectioners' sugar into a large shallow bowl. Add the warm cookies in batches and heavily coat the tops and sides.

Transfer the cookies to a sheet of wax paper that has been dusted with confectioners' sugar and let cool.

Makes 3 dozen.

-- Source: Food & Wine magazine.

Finikia

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup superfine sugar

Zest of one orange

1/2 cup corn oil

21/2 cups all-purpose flour

11/2 cups semolina

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup orange juice

Syrup:

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup honey

1 cinnamon stick

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets.

In a large bowl, cream together butter, superfine sugar and orange zest. Gradually mix in the oil and beat until light and fluffy. In separate bowl, combine flour, semolina, baking powder, cinnamon and cloves; beat into the fluffy mixture alternately with the orange juice.

As the mixture thickens, turn out onto a floured board and knead into a firm dough. Pinch off tablespoonfuls of dough and form them into balls or ovals.

Place cookies 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden. Cool on baking sheets to room temperature while making syrup.

In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, combine the water, sugar, honey, cinnamon stick and lemon juice. Bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes.

Remove the cinnamon stick.

While the mixture is boiling hot, dip the cookies in one at a time, making sure to cover them completely.

Place on a wire rack to dry and sprinkle with walnuts. Place paper under the rack to catch the drips.

Keep finished cookies in a sealed container at room temperature.

Makes 5 dozen.

-- Source: www.allrecipes.com

IF YOU GO

The 100th Epiphany cross-diving ritual will be held at 12:30 p.m. Friday at Spring Bayou in Tarpon Springs. The two-day Epiphany Glendi celebration, featuring Greek food and entertainment, will be 1 p.m. to midnight Friday and noon to midnight Saturday at Tarpon's historic Sponge Docks along Dodecanese Boulevard.

"Leap of Faith: Epiphany Centennial Exhibit" of photographs by St. Petersburg Times photographers opens Thursday and runs through Jan. 30 at the Tarpon Springs Cultural Society, 101 S Pinellas Ave.

For more information and a complete schedule of events, go to our special section

[Last modified January 3, 2006, 16:07:30]