Galaktoboureko (Greek Custard Pie)

Galaktoboureko got its name from a combination of Greek and Turkish words. Gala means milk in Greek and bourek means pie or pastry in Turkish.

Don’t let this recipe intimidate you. There are a few steps and takes a bit of time, but it really is easy to make. And it’s definitely worth it. It’s definitely a dessert you’ll want to make more than once.

Serve it at room temperature and allow the lemon infused syrup to be absorbed by the pastry. It can also be served with ice cream.

Galaktoboureko

Ingredients

For the Syrup

1-⅓ cups sugar
1 cup water
2 slices lemon
1-½ tablespoon lemon juice

For the Custard

6 cups milk
1 cup semolina flour*
1 cup sugar*
6 whole eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon fresh grated lemon peel or 5 drops lemon essential oil*

For the Phyllo Dough Crust

1 lb phyllo dough, thawed
1 stick butter, melted

*Can be found in our store

Instructions

To Make the Syrup

In a saucepan, bring the sugar and water to a boil over medium heat. Add the lemon slices, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and remove lemon slices. Add the lemon juice and set aside to cool.

To Make the Custard Filling

Pour milk into a large saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium heat. When the milk comes to a boil, whisk in the semolina, sugar, eggs, lemon juice and lemon peel, stirring constantly. Cook, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens and comes to a full boil. Remove from heat, and set aside.

Preheat your oven to 350 F.

Butter a 9×13 inch baking dish, and layer 6 sheets of phyllo into the pan, brushing each one with melted butter as you lay it in. Pour the semolina custard into the pan over the phyllo, and cover with the remaining 6 sheets of phyllo, brushing each sheet with butter as you lay it down.

Bake for 40 minutes, until the top crust is crisp and golden brown and the custard filling has set.

Remove from the oven and pour the cooled syrup evenly over the top. Make sure you also pour around the edges. Allow Galaktoboureko to cool and absorb the syrup (around 4 hours).

Serve warm or cold.

Adapted from Tasty Kitchen

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