Sifnos, located in the south Aegean sea, is a beautiful island famous for its ceramic workshops; ceramic bowls, plates, vases and cooking pots that bake wonderful oven stews.
Al though it can be also found in other Aegean islands, honey pie is famous as a specialty of Sifnos. It is one of those traditional desserts made with simple ingredients found in any agricultural community: homemade myzithra cheese, honey (μέλι) from their own bees and free range eggs. These ingredients were enough to make people creative and turn an old fashioned cheesecake into something we may nowadays call a gourmet dessert. The addition of more honey and some cinnamon when served makes it even more impressive.
Myzithra (also called anthótyro) is a low fat soft and fresh cheese made from both goat and sheep's milk, but if you can't find it abroad it could be substituted by Italian ricotta cheese with similar results.
Melópita
Serves 6
I used a 20cm, round baking pan
600gr soft myzithra cheese (or ricotta)
150gr honey
3 eggs
1Tbsp corn flour
½ tsp salt
vanilla or lemon zest for flavor
more honey and cinnamon to serve (optional)
Preheat the oven to 180 C.
In a bowl mix all ingredients with a whisk wire or just a fork, until completely incorporated.
Brush a baking pan with oil or butter and pour the Melópita batter in.
Bake for 40 min or until golden.
Serve Melópita warm or at room temperature drizzled with honey and dusted with cinnamon.
Hi, I love to read your blog. It helps me to understand more about Greec cutlure.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your nice comment.
ReplyDeletePolu wraies syntages kai blog!! :) Twra thelw na ta ftiaxw ola!
ReplyDeleteEfharisto Kat!!!
ReplyDeleteGoing to try this one.......sounds so yummy.....
ReplyDeleteYummy , easy and impessive!
DeleteWhat is corn flour? Is it corn starch we use in America?
ReplyDeleteThe corn flour we make in the mill is finely ground corn meal. Masa should work for the corn flour.
DeleteYes it is corn starch, not corn meal. Corn starch is also called maizena in many countries.
DeleteThis looks amazing! Could you convert these ingredients into something that looks familiar to me. thanks Cups,tespoons, etc.
ReplyDeleteI'm only familiar to the European metric system, but there are sites that do the convertion automaticaly and free. I use them often to convert cups to grams.
ReplyDeleteA wonderful recipe! Thanks so much for sharing. The Melópita turned out great. Delicious :)
ReplyDeleteThank you. I' m glad you liked it.
DeleteI just made this and it's absolutely delicious. Thanks for posting the recipe!
ReplyDeleteThank you for trying my recipe!
DeleteMade this over the weekend with ricotta. Used regular flour its what I had. Baked about 10 min longer and it was great. Husband loved it with a little extra honey drizzled on top. Thanks for sharing. Will try the milk pie recipe next.
ReplyDeleteThank you, I 'm glad it worked.
DeleteHi thanks for the recipe!
ReplyDeleteI've made melopita once before (http://www.foodbycountry.com/Germany-to-Japan/Greece.html) and that version used a pie crust just on the bottom (same idea as American cheese cake only pie crust not graham cracker crust). Whic is more traditional Greek with or without the crust?
Thanks & Blessings,
Tamara Green
There is no right and wrong with tradition. I believe that crust is used in a pie to hold the filling, so when a filling is firm enough, there is no reason for extra work. I found this recipe without a crust like the milkpie I've also posted here.
Deletekataplhktiko glyko! mpravo
ReplyDeleteDo you (or your readers) think that barley flour would work in place of the corn flour?
ReplyDeleteI have never used barley flour but the amount here is so small that it couldn't be a problem. The dessert mostly sets by the use of eggs.
DeleteCan I use mascorpone cheese instead?
ReplyDeleteOf course, mascarpone will give a velvety texture.
DeleteSo the mascorpone did not come out so well .. It wasn't smooth at all
DeleteSorry to hear that. The truth is that I haven't tried anything else than the original recipe. But cooking means trying new things, or let others do that for you and learn from their mistakes :)
DeleteThank heavens I will let you know how it comes out
ReplyDeletecan this be done with cream cheese?
ReplyDeleteNever tried it with this recipe, only with cheesecake.
DeleteSounds wonderful. My Italian Grandmother used to make this pie with home-made ricotta, raisins and vanilla, Abruzzi-style, sometimes with a graham cracker crust. Think I'll try this one with the lemon. Thanks for the great recipe.
ReplyDeleteΕυχαριστώ πολύ, θα τη δοκιμάσω σύντομα!
ReplyDeleteΕμμανουέλα
Dear Panos! Ευχαριστώ πολύ! I'm a Sicilian (so we are something like cousin with Greek people! LoL) and I'm working in Brazil and adore baking! Your blog is fantastic! as the ricotta cheese is not a good one here, unfortunately, unlike Greece and Sicily, could I use cream cheese for Melópita, aware that its consistence is very different? Thank you for your help and for your recipes!! All the best! Biagio
ReplyDeleteSorry for my late answer Biagio. Cream cheese is not a problem for the succes of the recipe just keep in mind that cream cheese has a very velvety texture and a bit of salt, which is not bad just different. Let us know if it worked. Happy baking!
DeleteThis definitely goes on my to bake list!! Just a note: anthotyro is not the same as myzithra, although they are similar! :) thank you for sharing this recipe
ReplyDeleteMy favourite island. The chickpeas baked overnight in clay pots are amazing. I still have a huge deep blue bowl that I bough there 25 years ago. The pride of my kitchen table.
ReplyDeleteThis was absolutely delicious. Used a good floral honey and full fat ricotta.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your recipe🥰😋