Professor Butter Beard’s “Cleopatra”
“The April's in her eyes: it is love's Spring,
And these the showers to bring it on..” - William Shakespeare, “Antony and Cleopatra”
Ah, to look into those dark eyes of Cleopatra. Yet, historians describe the dark-haired, olive-skinned woman (with a preference for Greek rather than Egyptian garments) as being short by modern standards and, like almost everyone of her time, suffering from bad teeth. Coins bearing her image suggest a mature woman with large heavy-lidded eyes, a long hooked nose and a projecting masculine chin sitting on top of a rather thick neck. So how did Cleopatra manage to captivate two of Rome’s greatest men if not by her looks?
The Greek philosopher Plutarch, writing in the first century CE, explained: “Her beauty, as we are told, was in itself not altogether incomparable, nor such as to strike those who saw her; but converse with her had an irresistible charm, and her presence, combined with the persuasiveness of her discourse and character…had something stimulating about it. There was sweetness also in the tones of her voice; and her tongue, like an instrument of many strings, she could readily turn to whatever language she pleased…”
I imagine her in the light of a full moon, ascending the stairs to the rooftop of the Temple of Hathor (“Mistress of the Sky and Love”) in Dendera to give thanks to the gods. Her olive skin smelling of frankincense and myrrh and lotus oil, her ankle-length sheath dress fluttering in the breeze and her crown, bearing the sacred horns of Hathor, reflecting the moonlight. She must have felt unstoppable with the rising superpower of Rome as her ally and Julius Caesar as the father of her newborn son. Yet, within three years, Caesar would be assassinated and Octavian’s obsession with vengeance and power would lead her to suicide in order to avoid the humiliation of being paraded as a prisoner in a Roman triumph celebrating the military victories of Octavian, Rome's first emperor in 27 BCE and renamed Caesar Augustus.
According to the scholars at the Metropolitan Museum, neoclassical sculptors often drew upon mythology, history, the Bible, and literature for their subject matter. “Cleopatra,” carved in marble by the American sculptor William Wetmore Story, depicts the last semi-divine female king of Egypt, as she meditates suicide with an asp curled around her left arm forecasting her death from its venomous bite. Story typically depicted his figures on a monumental scale (he also carved Delilah, Media and Sappho) and paid meticulous attention to archaeological accuracy in their props and costumes. His Cleopatra wears the "nemes," or royal headcloth, topped with the "uraeus," or cobra headdress. But it is her downcast soulful eyes that beg us to step closer and join her contemplation of death.
Those beautiful eyes travelled with me on the train home from the museum and I hope I honored them faithfully in baking Syrian “Ekmak” pastries. It is one of the most smooth and elastic doughs I have ever worked with and not as sweet as many American interpretations. Flavored with local honey and lemon zest, the dough perfectly frames the ricotta filling studded with blackberries and jam. Enjoy them warm from the oven, drizzled with some additional honey and alongside your favorite afternoon tea. And when you visit the Metropolitan, as we all can again, please lock eyes with Cleopatra and give her a nod of encouragement on her journey.
Details of “Cleopatra” - photographed by the author on June 24th, 2021
Cleopatra’s Eyes
Adapted from Riyad Al-Kasem’s “Ekmak”
Makes nine large pastries
Ingredients:
20 ounces whole-milk ricotta (about 2 ½ cups)
4 ½ to 4 ¾ cup all-purpose flour, divided
2 eggs (plus 1 more for the final egg wash before baking)
¼ cup local honey
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
3 ¾ tsp kosher salt, divided
12 ounces warm water
4 Tbsp granulated sugar, divided
7 grams (2 ½ tsp) active dry yeast
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ½ tsp apple cider vinegar
Zest of 1 large lemon
¾ cup fresh blackberries, halved lengthwise
½ cup blackberry jam
Garnish: confectioner’s sugar or warm honey
1) In a glass bowl, stir together the ricotta, ½ cup of the flour, 2 eggs, honey, nutmeg and ¾ tsp of the kosher salt. Cover with plastic wrap and chill while making the dough.
2) In a small bowl, whisk together half the warm water, 1 Tbsp of granulated sugar and the yeast. Let stand until foamy, about 5 to 8 minutes.
3) In the bowl of a standing mixer with the dough hook, stir together 4 cups of the flour, the butter, the lemon zest and remaining 3 Tbsp of granulated sugar until fully combined. Add the yeast mixture and the vinegar and slowly add the remaining half of the warm water. Beat together until the dough is smooth and elastic and clears the side of the bowl. On wet days, you can add up to another ¼ cup of flour. Finally, beat in the 3 tsp salt.
4) Oil a large bowl, turn the dough into the bowl and roll to lightly cover the entire surface with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise to double in size (about 45 minutes).
5) Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and line three baking sheet trays with parchment.
6) Punch down the dough, turn onto a lightly floured surface and divide into nine portions (time to use your baking scale – portions should be about 100 grams each). Let rest five minutes.
7) In another bowl, stir together the fresh blackberries and jam. Remove your ricotta filling from the refrigerator and prepare your egg wash (one egg and 1 Tbsp warm water).
8) One at a time, roll a portion of dough into a 10” by 4” oval. Spoon and spread about 1/3 cup ricotta filling in the center of the dough, leaving 1 ½” border around the edges.
9) Gently fold the right-hand corner of the oval over the bottom right-hand corner and press to secure. Fold the bottom left-hand corner of the oval up over the upper left-hand corner and press to secure. Repeat with the bottom right and top left corners, folding so the dough forms a boat-like shape with the filling still visible. Gently twist the ends and pull the boat to about 12” long as you lift it onto the parchment-lined tray. Repeat with the next two dough balls evenly spacing three pastries on the tray. Spoon about 1 Tbsp of the blackberry mixture on top of the exposed filling and egg wash the dough.
10) Bake the pastries roughly 15 minutes, until golden brown, rotating the tray halfway through. While the first tray is baking, form the next three boats and place on the second tray in preparation for baking. While the second tray bakes, prepare the third.
11) Let the pastries cool on the pan for 10 minutes and then remove to a wire rack. Serve warm dusted with confectionary’s sugar or drizzled with warm honey.
