Sesame and honey plakous for Aphrodite
A tender cake of fresh cheese and flour, drizzled with thyme honey and rolled in toasted sesame: the sweetness of feasts and offerings, fragrant and melting.
A tender cake of fresh cheese and flour, drizzled with thyme honey and rolled in toasted sesame: the sweetness of feasts and offerings, fragrant and melting.
To you who listen, let me prepare the sweet I love to offer to Aphrodite of the sparkling throne. I beat fresh cheese from our goats with a little flour, I brown it over gentle heat, then I drench it in thyme-scented honey from our hills and roll it in toasted sesame, as is done for wedding cakes. When I lay down this offering, I murmur to the goddess to come, gentle and favorable, as she came long ago when I called her.
- •Fresh goat or sheep cheese — a generous portion (base)
- •Wheat flour — a little, to bind (binder)
- •Thyme honey — generously (topping and flavor)
- •Sesame seeds — a handful (signature and coating)
Sesame and honey plakous for Aphrodite
A tender cake of fresh cheese and flour, drizzled with thyme honey and rolled in toasted sesame: the sweetness of feasts and offerings, fragrant and melting.
Why this dish? Aphrodite is the deity Sappho invokes in her most famous verses, and the poetess herself mentions sesame wedding cakes. Inspired — not copied — from the sweets offered to the goddess of love, this cake of honey, fresh cheese and sesame connects her table to her devotion.
To you who listen, let me prepare the sweet I love to offer to Aphrodite of the sparkling throne. I beat fresh cheese from our goats with a little flour, I brown it over gentle heat, then I drench it in thyme-scented honey from our hills and roll it in toasted sesame, as is done for wedding cakes. When I lay down this offering, I murmur to the goddess to come, gentle and favorable, as she came long ago when I called her.
Ingredients (period version)
- Fresh goat or sheep cheese — a generous portion (base)
- Wheat flour — a little, to bind (binder)
- Thyme honey — generously (topping and flavor)
- Sesame seeds — a handful (signature and coating)
Ingredients
- Fresh cheese (fresh goat cheese or sheep ricotta) — 250 g (base)
- Wheat flour — 3 tbsp (binder)
- Egg — 1 small (binder)
- Thyme honey — 4 tbsp (topping and flavor)
- Sesame seeds — 4 tbsp (signature and coating)
Method
- Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan until golden and fragrant.
- Mix the drained fresh cheese, flour and egg into a soft dough.
- Shape small cakes and brown them 3–4 minutes per side in a lightly oiled pan over low heat.
- Arrange the warm cakes, drizzle generously with honey.
- Sprinkle abundantly with toasted sesame and serve warm.
How it was made : Pemmata, Greek cakes, mixed flour, fresh cheese, honey and seeds (sesame, poppy). Honey and sesame cakes were offered to the gods, especially at weddings and festivals of Aphrodite. Sugar did not exist: all sweetness came from honey and fruit.
The contemporary twist : Serve as small round bites, with dripping honey and a rain of sesame, under the name "Aphrodite's bites" for a festive snack.
Sappho · Charactorium
