• Oven - Preheat the oven to 375F/190C/ Gas Mark 5
• Pan - In a small bowl, combine the room temperature butter and powdered food color. Using a pastry brush coat the inside of an 8-inch oven-safe skillet or 8-inch round cake pan with the colored butter. Set aside.

  Pro tip - Be generous with the butter as it will make the pastry nice and crisp!
  2 tbsp Soft butter, ½ tsp Orange or red powdered food color
• Kataifi - Transfer the kataifi dough to the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times. Do not make it too fine. Transfer the kataifi to a large bowl and pour melted butter. Using your hands or two spoons, toss the crushed kataifi so every strand is coated in butter. Set aside.

  Pro tip - I prefer to crush the pastry with my hands in a large bowl. This gives more volume and looks nicer. If you plan to dye the dough, you can add the powdered food color to the dough along with the butter.
  12 oz Kataifi dough, ½ cup Melted butter, ½ tsp Orange powdered food color
• Cheese - In a large bowl, combine all the cheeses and add the sugar. Set aside.
  8 oz Akawi cheese, 4 oz Mozzarella cheese , 4 oz Panella cheese, ¼ cup Sugar
• Syrup - In a small saucepan, combine the syrup ingredients. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 3 to 5 minutes until thick. Set aside.

  Pro tip - Do not make the syrup too thick as it will just make parts of the pastry too sweet leaving some parts unsweetened.
  ¾ cup Water, 1 cup Sugar, 1 tbsp Rose water, 2 tbsp Orange blossom water, 2 tbsp Lemon juice

Assemble

• First layer - Divide the kataifi into two. Layer the first half in the bottom of the prepared greased skillet/baking pan. Press down with the flat bottom of a glass or measuring cup.
• Cheese - Pour the prepared cheese mixture on top and make sure to leave an inch away from the edges.

  Pro tip - The cheese must be in the center so it does not ooze out from the edges.
• Second layer - Top with the remaining kataifi dough and press down with the back of a glass or measuring cup.

  Pro tip - To make it crispy brush the top with any remaining melted butter.
• Bake - Transfer the pan to the oven and bake on the center rack for 30 to 35 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
• Syrup - As soon as you take the baked pastry out of the oven, generously pour the room-temperature syrup over the hot pastry. Leave to soak for 10 minutes.
• Invert - To invert the pastry, place a plate over the pan and flip it over.

  Pro tip - Make sure to use a plate larger than the circumference of the pan and wait for all the syrup to be fully soaked into the pastry.
• Garnish - Garnish the top with crushed nuts. I like to serve this dessert warm with ice cream on top.
  ½ cup Crushed nuts