Quite some months ago I made this Bundt Börek which is a savoury pastry baked in a ring mould called a Bundt pan. Using Turkish yufka I wrapped up all the goodness – in this case cheese, parsley and dill and covered and soaked the pastry in a mixture of eggs, yogurt and olive oil and moulded it into the Bundt.
PREPARE IT ONE DAY BEFORE YOU NEED IT.
I left it absorbing all its liquids overnight and then popped it in the oven 24 hours later. It was a real success and I have no idea why it has taken me so long to feature it. It certainly deserved better treatment!
Bundt cake tins are generally used for cakes. The obvious one that comes to mind in Turkey is Mozaik Cake. Possibly the first cake any little Turkish village girl will learn to turn out. It seems always to come in a Bundt shape.
So it was quite a shock when I was offered a slice of börek that had been baked in this form.
My first Bundt Börek attempt using 4 sheets of yufka
It was lovely to see this börek in a unique shape and I couldn’t wait to get home and try it myself.
IT’S AS EASY AS PIE
It is no harder to make than any other börek. You could not even call it fiddly. It’s just fun. So if you have one of these tins, then go impress!
As I mentioned above, it should be left overnight to soak up all the liquids. I then cooked it around 11.30am the next day so that I could serve it warm for lunch. If it is too hot, the flavours will not be at their optimum. It’s best to give it a bit of time to cool a little.
ANY FILLING GOES
Of course, you can fill this börek with whatever you wish. I would not play around with the liquid mixture but feel free to change the cheese for mince and onion or mushrooms or whatever you feel worth trying.
You can use 4 or 5 sheets of yufka. I felt that 4 worked best for me but if you have a large bundt tin or like to spread your mixture more thinly then use all 5 sheets. The recipe is very forgiving.
Have fun with this one!
- 4 or 5 sheets of yufka pastry
- 2 small eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 200ml soda water or 200 ml water and 2 tsp bicarb soda
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 400g white cheese (feta), lor peynir (ricotta) or a mixture
- 1 bunch parsley chopped (around 200g)
- 50g chopped dill (optional)
- 1 tsp pul biber (chilli flakes) (optional)
- ½ tsp salt if cheese is not salty
- Oil the bundt pan well
- Mix egg, oil, milk and soda (or water and bicarb) together in a large bowl
- In a small bowl mix the chopped herbs and cheese together along with salt and pul biber if using
- Cover the Bundt pan with a sheet of yufka, leaving long sides overhanging which will tuck over the top at the end of the process
- Brush all over the pastry in the pan with the egg mixture
- Tear a sheet of yufka into quarters, dip a quarter piece in the egg mixture so it is fully submerged.
- Lay it in the form and repeat with the remaining quarters, one at a time
- Spread some cheese mixture between the layers
- Repeat the process, tearing another sheet into quarters
- Continue layering the alternate cheese and yufka until it is all finished.
- Depending on the size of the pan you may or may not use 5 sheets of yufka.
- Finally gently push down on the middle of the Bundt pan, forcing the pastry over the centre form
- Tuck the sides over the top and into the centre
- Brush the last of the egg mixture over the pastry and leave overnight to soak up all the liquid
- Bake the following day in a 180C oven until golden
- Can be served warm or cold.
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