Dubai-style mazurek with pistachio and kataifi

Dubai-style mazurek is a fusion-style take on the traditional Polish Easter mazurek, combining a crisp cocoa shortcrust pastry base with the hugely popular – and delicious – Dubai chocolate. It’s well worth trying, especially if you enjoyed my Dubai-style chocolate tart. This mazurek features a cocoa shortcrust base topped with a crunchy pistachio and kataifi layer and finished with a smooth chocolate ganache. I decorated mine with extra toasted kataifi pastry, a little ground pistachio and pistachios in their shells. A lovely green accent for the Easter table, especially alongside traditional Polish Easter bakes.

Ingredients for the cocoa shortcrust pastry:

• 160 g plain flour
• 25 g cocoa powder
• 50 g icing sugar
• 100 g cold butter, cut into cubes
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1–2 tbsp sour cream
• a pinch of salt

Sift the flour and cocoa powder into a bowl. Add the butter and rub it into the dry ingredients with your fingertips, or cut it in with a knife, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk, sour cream, icing sugar and salt. Quickly bring the ingredients together to form a dough (you can also use a food processor and process until the dough comes together into a ball). Shape the dough into a ball, flatten slightly and wrap in cling film. Chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

Line a 20 x 30 cm baking tin with baking paper. Remove the pastry from the fridge, roll it out and transfer it to the tin. Chill again for 60 minutes. Prick the pastry all over with a fork just before baking.

Bake at 180°C for about 20 minutes, or until the pastry is fully baked. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.

Ingredients for the pistachio and kataifi filling:

• 60 g butter
• 200 g kataifi pastry
• 450 g pistachio cream (you can also use sweetened pistachio paste, or 100% pistachio paste sweetened to taste)
• 50 g tahini
• a pinch of salt

Melt the butter in a frying pan. Cut the kataifi pastry into small pieces, add to the butter and fry, separating the strands as you go, until crisp and golden brown. Remove from the heat and leave to cool completely.

Place the toasted kataifi pastry in a bowl. Add the pistachio cream (if it is too firm, warm it briefly by placing the jar in hot water and stir), tahini and salt. Gently mix until combined. Spread the pistachio filling over the cooled pastry base and smooth the surface.

Ingredients for the chocolate ganache:

• 110 ml double cream
• 135 g milk chocolate, finely chopped
• 50 g plain or dark chocolate (50–70% cocoa solids), finely chopped

Heat the double cream in a small saucepan until almost boiling. Remove from the heat, add the chopped chocolate and leave for 2 minutes. Stir until the chocolate has completely melted and the ganache is smooth. If necessary, pass it through a sieve – it should be completely smooth. Leave to cool slightly, but it should remain pourable.

Pour the ganache over the pistachio filling and spread evenly. Leave to set in the fridge, then decorate as desired.

Store the mazurek at room temperature – the chocolate topping and shortcrust pastry will remain pleasantly soft, and the mazurek will be easier to cut and taste better. For longer storage, it can be kept in the fridge.

Enjoy!