Bougatsa
About the Recipe:
Favorite Greek street food and snack, Bougatsa is traditionally made with very large handmade phyllo sheets that are folded over multiple times before being folded over the filling. Bougatsa is said to originate and is most popular in Thessaloniki, in the Central Macedonia region of Northern Greece. This traditional Greek dish is perfect for every time of the day as a delicious snack or as a filling dessert. Enjoy while still warm with a last-minute sprinkle of icing sugar and cinnamon.
The authentic Greek Bougatsa recipe calls for ‘galaktos’ butter made from cow’s milk, which gives a very rich flavor and amazing smell!
To make the phyllo crispier and flakier, sprinkle the melted butter over the phyllo sheets, rather than brushing them. Don’t forget to brush the top of the Bougatsa with enough butter and scar with a knife to help release the steam.
INGREDIENTS:
Pastry cream:
3½ cups milk or (2 cups milk + 1½ cups heavy cream)
½ cup sugar +
2 whole large eggs plus 2 egg yolks
2/3 - 1 cup Semolina
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
Zest of 1 lemon
Bougatsa:
14 ounces phyllo dough
8 ounces butter, melted
Topping:
Ground cinnamon
Confection sugar
PREPRATION:
Start by making the custard:
Warm the milk: Warm the milk in the saucepan until you start to see wisps of steam. It should not actually be boiling.
Make the egg-sugar base: In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, semolina, and salt. Add the eggs and egg yolks and whisk them into the dry ingredients. This will form a thick paste. It's fine if the paste looks crumbly or smooth; the important thing is that the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
Add the milk to the egg mixture: Pour a little of the hot milk into the eggs and whisk to combine. Continue pouring the milk slowly into the eggs, whisking continuously. It's OK to switch back and forth between pouring milk and whisking if you can't manage both at the same time.
Cook the pastry cream: When all the milk has been added to the eggs, pour everything back into the saucepan set the pan back over medium heat. (Prepare a strainer over a bowl and place it near the stove.) Whisk constantly until the cream starts to thicken after a few minutes. Pause whisking every few seconds to see if the cream has come to a boil. If you see large bubbles popping on the surface, whisk for a few more seconds and then remove the pan from heat.
Strain and cool the pastry cream: Stir the vanilla and lemon zest into the pastry cream and then pour the cream into the strainer set over the bowl. Stir to push it through the strainer.
Cover and store: Cover the pastry cream with a piece of plastic wrap pressed right up against the surface of the cream and chill completely for 2 hours in the refrigerator.
Assemble the Bougatsa
You will need a large baking tray (13 X 9 X 2) or equivalent Pyrex.
Using a pastry brush, butter the bottom and sides of the baking pan with butter.
Line the bottom of the pan with 6 sheets of phyllo, brushing each sheet with the butter. Leave some flaps of the phyllo sheets hanging out the pan.
Pour the custard filling into the center of phyllo and fold the hanging edges (flpas) of phyllo over the custard.
Top with the 4-5 phyllo sheets, brushing each with melted butter and tucking them under so that the pastry looks like a parcel.
Brush the top with enough butter and drizzle lightly with water. Scar the top of the pie with a sharp knife.
Bake in preheated oven at 350°F for 30-40 minutes, until the top is crisp and golden.
Let the Bougatsa cool down and sprinkle with confection sugar and cinnamon before serving.
Prep Time:
Cook Time:
60 min
2 hours
Serves:
Type:
Desert
8-10 servings