Flaouna

History

Flaounes are traditionally served in Cyprus as a celebratory food for the breaking of the Lenten fast, being prepared on Good Friday for consumption on Easter Sunday by Orthodox Christians. They are eaten in place of bread on Easter Sunday, and continue to be made and eaten for the weeks following. Creating the flaounes can often be a family tradition shared with multiple generations.

The Guinness World Records holds a record for the largest flaouna ever made. It was set on 11 April 2012 by the company Carrefour in Limassol. The pastry measured 2.45 metres (8.0 ft) long and 1.24 metres (4.1 ft) wide, weighing 259.5 kilograms (572 lb). As part of the celebrations, 20 percent of sales of flaounes in Carrefour stores on the day in Cyprus, went to charity.

Flaounes were featured as a technical challenge in The Great British Bake Off pastry week episode of season six.

Recipe

Flaounes are a cheese filled pastry interspersed with cheese. The pastry is described as similar to shortcrust in texture. The cheese can be a mix of graviera, halloumi, fresh anari and/or kefalotyri. Outside of Europe, these cheeses can sometimes be referred to as "flaouna" cheese. Depending on the area of island in which they are made, the recipes vary so that the pastries are either salty, semi-sweet or sweet. They can also sometimes have sesame seeds sprinkled on top or sultanas interspersed with the cheese.