Galaktoboureko: A silky Greek custard

It is this time of the year again when I start to browse the net in search of a good holiday destination. Not that I’m planning another one any time soon. But it’s always good to know what’s out there, what’s affordable, what’s kids’ friendly and what’s trending on the World Wide Web. My husband is turning 40 this year and I’m having a birthday a few days later. Instead of a big celebration we’ve decided to fly to sunny far north Queensland to the coastal city of Cairns. It should be good if we get good weather. But I digress! 

I was going through some posts on Steemit and came across Hive account@choogirl Santorini – come for the sun, pools, wine, vegan cheese… and no kids post. Check it out she’s got some fantastic pictures of Greece that will make you start saving straight away for your next holidays. And her article got me thinking about maybe my first holidays in Greece. I’ve never been to this country. I had it jotted down as a to-do destination back in 2015. In December of that year, I went to visit my parents in Poland and it so happened that my brother decided to get married around the same time. It was very good timing. For the first extended holidays with my husband we thought of visiting a few European cities in the process.

Rome was at the top of our list followed by Barcelona. We already planned a stopover in Prague so we were hesitating between Lisbon, Porto or somewhere in Greece (Santorini). The initial issue was that we couldn’t find a flight that would fit with our travel arrangement. Neither WizzAir nor Ryan Air provided a flight from either Barcelona or Rome to these destination at the time.

And as we drew closer to our holidays the migrant crisis broke in Europe with Greece as the starting point of everything. With no direct flight to Portugal we thought of spending a few days in Paris but then came the Bataclan attack in mid-November. So we decided against adding another European leg to our trip. So when I saw Hive account@choogirl article it got me reminiscing about the time that could have been in Greece. In the absence of holidays, I thought the next alternative would be to do a culinary trip. Now I must admit that I didn’t know much about Greek desserts until such time I took some time to do some research.

My sister-in-law loves Greek food. For her wedding anniversary, she would normally reserve a table at her favourite restaurant in Oakleigh. She would always brag about Galaktoboureko; a Greek custard tart. I had a slice last time she ordered some. I loved it and thought I had to do it. I attempted it for my father-in-law’s birthday but I was not overly satisfied.

I gave it another go yesterday. This time I bought some proper filo pastry and most importantly I allowed the dessert to set overnight at home temperature. This allowed the pastry to suck in all the syrup while maintaining the pastry consistency. I must admit that I am quite satisfied with the outcome. Today’s recipe is from blogger Lisa Faulkner. And I must agree with her after tasting my own version: “it tastes just like Greek holiday!” Not that I know how a Greek holiday feels. But I certainly hope it is as good as the dessert! All up it should only take 45 minutes to get everything prepared.



Ingredients  

• 1 litre milk
• 3 medium eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
• 100g caster sugar
• 100g fine semolina
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 120g unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
• 225g filo pastry

For the syrup  

• 150g caster sugar
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method  

1. Heat the oven to 190°C. Brush a 23 x 30cm ovenproof dish or baking tin with melted butter. Pour the milk into a pan and bring to just below boiling point, then remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
2. In a bowl, lightly beat the eggs, egg yolks and sugar together until thoroughly blended. Stir in the semolina. Transfer the mixture to a large heavy pan and pour in the hot milk, stirring constantly. Simmer over a low heat, still stirring, for about 10 minutes until smooth and thick. Remove from the heat, add the vanilla extract and 3–4 tablespoons of the melted butter.

3. Cut the filo sheets to fit the dish and spread half of them on the base, brushing each with melted butter before laying on the next. Pour in the custard and spread evenly over the filo.

4. Stack the remaining sheets on top of the custard, brushing each with melted butter before adding another layer. Using a knife, cut 4 strips lengthways into the pastry layers without cutting through the edges. Brush the top of the tart with butter and sprinkle with a little water.

5. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 160°C and bake for a further 35 minutes until the top is golden and crisp.

6. For the syrup, place the sugar and lemon juice into a pan, pour in 125ml water and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Boil without stirring for 7 minutes, then remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla extract and leave to stand for 10 minutes to thicken. 
7. Spoon the syrup over the pastry as soon as it is out of the oven. Allow the pastry to cool and absorb the syrup, then cut into 5cm squares or diamonds and serve warm or at room temperature.

I hope you enjoy it! 

Bon appétit!