Flaounes: Cypriot Easter Cheese Pastries
User Reviews
4.9
Flaounes: Cypriot Easter Cheese Pastries
Description
The Flaounes filling combines grated haloumi cheese with semolina and beaten eggs to provide body, along with ground nutmeg, mastic, chopped mint, plump black raisins, and a touch of honey for complexity and sweetness. The mixture is chilled for several hours, allowing it to thicken and develop flavors.
The dough consists of lukewarm milk and water mixed with yeast and sugar to activate the yeast, then combined with flour, eggs, baking powder, ground mastic, melted butter, and salt. The dough is kneaded until smooth and left to rise for an hour to develop a soft, elastic texture. The filling is portioned into balls, as is the dough, to assemble individual pastries.
The dough is carefully sealed around the filling, with a water brush helping to tightly close the edges to avoid opening during baking. An egg wash is applied on top, and sesame seeds are sprinkled before baking at 200°C (390°F) to create a golden crust. The pastries result in a tender, richly flavored treat with a combination of salty, sweet, and herbal aromas traditionally served at Easter.
A simple cooking tip calls for brushing the dough edges with water and pressing firmly to prevent the pastries from opening while baking, ensuring a neat shape and proper cooking.
Ingredients
For the filling:
- 500 g haloumi cheese grated
- 50 g semolina
- 2 egg medium
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp mastic finely ground
- 1 tsp mint finely chopped
- 120 g black raisins
- 1 tsp honey
For the dough:
- 80 ml milk lukewarm
- 60 ml water lukewarm
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 9 g active dry yeast
- 500 g all-purpose flour
- 2 egg medium
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp mastic finely ground
- 130 g butter melted
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 egg diluted with a little milk, for egg wash, yolk
- sesame seeds for sprinkling
Instructions
For the filling:
- In a bowl, add the haloumi cheese, semolina, eggs, nutmeg, mastic, mint, black raisins and honey. Mix thoroughly with a spoon. Cover the bowl with cellophane and refrigerate for 4 hours, to allow the filling to thicken.
For the dough:
- In another bowl, add the milk, water, sugar and yeast. Mix with a hand whisk until completely combined and set aside for 5 minutes to allow the yeast to activate.
- In a mixer bowl, add the flour, eggs, baking powder, mastic, butter, salt and yeast mixture. Beat on medium speed, using the hook attachment, until you create a smooth dough.
- Transfer the dough to a bowl dusted with flour. Cover the bowl with cellophane wrap and set it aside to rise for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 200° C/ 390 °F, fan.
For the Flaounes:
- When the filling is ready, remove from the refrigerator and divide into 12 equal sized pieces. Shape into round balls and transfer to a plate.
- Divide the dough into 12 equal sized pieces. Shape into round balls and transfer to a plate or a baking pan. Cover with a wet towel so they don’t dry out.
- Place a ball of dough on a work surface dusted with flour. Roll out the dough into a circle 15 cm / 6 inches in diameter.
- Brush the dough with some water and place a ball of filling in the center of the circle. Fold the edges inward from the bottom, top and two sides up to the ball of filling, creating a square. Press down on the edges to secure them.
- Transfer to a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Repeat the same process for the remaining ingredients.
- Brush the edges with the egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden.
- When ready, remove from the oven and allow them to cool a little before serving.
Notes
- Brush the pastry edges with water and press firmly to seal, preventing them from opening during baking.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.9
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