I have been intrigued with mákos guba for a long time and what can I say the mákos guba video by ZabaMesterek played a major part in it. Theirs is the fast method, but if you know me at all, I distrust anything THAT fast so I went for the traditional preparation.
I have to confess... I never had mákos guba before, it must have been something my grandmother or father did not care for; otherwise we would have seen it on the dinner table on pasta days. As it turns out Jimre doesn’t like it either. I have an interesting relationship with poppy seeds as well; I like them, but in moderation. I think I will try the guba with ground walnuts before I make up my mind “to guba or not to guba”.
Mákos Guba is baked in a thin custard of sorts and ten served with a hot vanilla sodó, [sodó it is a sweet sauce thickened with flour] but your guba will be much nicer if you take the time and make a Crème Anglaise. Flavour the Crème Anglaise with real vanilla beans or homemade vanilla sugar.
POPPY SEED BREAD PUDDING
2/3 cup finely ground or cooked poppy seeds*
6 cups of sliced kifli or 1 large sweet braid sliced such as challah [click on the link]
3 egg yolks
3/8 cup sugar
4 cups whole milk
4 Tbsp homemade vanilla sugar [or 2 commercial packets]
3/4 cup icing sugar
butter for greasing the dish
1 batch of Crème Anglaise [click on the link]
* The poppy seeds should be very finely ground or cooked. Otherwise the poppy seeds in this context will be hard and bitter. If you cannot grind the poppy seeds, cook them. Place the seeds in a small pot and cover with water. Bring to the boil and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes. Drain really well and set it aside until needed.
• Grind or cook the poppy seeds and set them aside.
• Slice the kifli or challah.
• Butter an ovenproof dish and set it aside.
• Heat up the milk, but do not boil.
• Meanwhile beat the egg yolks with sugar until thick and lemon coloured.
• Add the vanilla sugar and gradually add some of the warm milk to the beaten egg yolks. Stir to combine.
• Pour the yolk-milk mixture back into the pot with the remaining warm milk and stir to combine. Do not beat.
• Preheat the oven to 350F.
• Place a layer of sliced kifli or sliced challah in the prepared dish.
• Drizzle with some of the warm yolk-milk mixture.
• Sprinkle the top with ground poppy seeds. If you cooked the poppy seeds, just drop small amounts of cooked poppy seeds on the top.
• Continue to layer the kifli [or challah] slices, the yolk-milk mixture and the poppy seeds until it’s all used up ending with the yolk-milk mixture.
• Place in the preheated oven and bake for 35-30 minutes.
• Meanwhile prepare the Crème Anglaise.
• To serve, spoon some Creame Anglaise on a pasta plate and with a large spoon and scoop some guba on the top and serve it right of way.
