Growing up in a Greek family, food was always the center of every celebration. We would fret for weeks over who was making what…and of course, the most important part of every meal was dessert. Of all the Greek desserts, Galatoboureko (pronounced gala-toh-boo-reko) was definitely one of my favorites. The delicate nature of the lightly sweetened custard against the crispy, chewy background of the filo dough, gently coated in a light, fragrant syrup syrup still takes my breath away. This week, my darling friend Katina came to visit, and I had been promising her for ages that I would make her one. So I made her a tray, and kept one for home. You can serve this either warm or cold, but definitely try it warm when the filo is still extra crunchy. If the syrup is made correctly, the filo will stay somewhat crunchy, even after being refrigerated.
Galatoboureko
3eggs
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla (or ½ vanilla pod, seeded)
3 cups whole milk
½ cup fine semolina
¼ # melted butter
½# filo dough
Syrup
2 ½ cups water
¾ cup honey
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
2 drops lemon oil ***optional
1 cinnamon stick
3 whole cloves
1 cup granulated sugar
First, we must get the syrup cooking so that it is ready when the dessert comes out of the oven. Add all of the ingredients to a medium size pot and mix well. Cook over moderate heat for about 10-15 minutes until it has achieved a light syrupy consistency. I like to add a little more water so that the spices can cook into the syrup. Once the syrup has cooked, set aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Measure out the milk and add it to a medium pot and scald but do not boil. If you are using vanilla bean, add the seeds along with the pod to steep in the milk. If you would like to know how to use vanilla beans, click here to read our article on vanilla.
Add eggs to a medium sized bowl along with the sugar and whip together until well incorporated. Measure out the semolina and set aside. Once the milk is scalded, slowly temper this into the egg/sugar mix. Remove the vanilla bean and rinse well. Let dry on a paper towel and then add it to your sugar, if you like. Add this egg/sugar and milk mixture back into the pot, then slowly add in all of the semolina. Stir over low to moderate heat until thickened, then set aside. You can make this ahead of time and refrigerate if you don’t have time to roll out the filo right away. It will still be very smooth and pliable to spread into the filo, and not at all like custards that are made with cornstarch. Decide which pan you will use and begin layering the filo using just enough butter to coat the pan and the layers. If you would like to learn how to layer filo dough in a baking sheet, click here for instructions.
Pour in the custard and roll the filo dough over the top to encase the filling. Cut slices in the top layers of the filo, so that it is easy to cut after it has baked. Bake for 45-50 minutes until golden brown and after it comes out from the oven, gently drizzle over the honey until well soaked. Enjoy warm or let cool completely before putting into the refrigerator.
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