Time 40m Number Of Ingredients 9 Steps:
In a mixing bowl whisk together the eggs and cornstarch. Set aside. In a cooking pot add milk, sugar, and vanilla extract. Heat over medium-high heat. Once milk reaches a boiling point remove from heat. Using a ladle, start pouring milk slowly, into the egg mixture while whisking constantly. Incorporate half the milk into the eggs and then transfer the mixture back to the pot. Transfer pot back to the heat and keep whisking until cream thickens. Set cream aside while you prepare the base. Preheat oven to 200°C / 392°F. Lay open the filo stack on your working surface. Grease a 15x10 inch / 38x25 cm baking dish with melted butter. Take one filo sheet and gather it up together (to make it look wavy) to the corner of the dish. Repeat process with 4 more filo sheets to cover the whole bottom of the dish. Drizzle using the ⅓ of the melted butter. Bake filo for 5 minutes or until it gets a golden color all over on top. Remove from the oven and spread the cream evenly on top. Add the remaining filo sheets exactly the same way as you did for the base. You may tear a filo sheet apart in order to fill empty spaces. Drizzle remaining butter on top. Bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until filo looks crispy and deep golden in color. Set pastry aside for 10-15 minutes. Dust with plenty of icing sugar and cinnamon. Ready to cut and serve!
Time 43m Yield 8-10 custard pastries (bougatsa) Number Of Ingredients 13 Steps:
Beat eggs until frothy; beat in sugar until thick and foamy, about 4 minutes. Set aside. Heat milk in medium pot until hot but not boiling. Remove from heat and whisk into egg mixture in a thin stream until all the milk mixture is used up - never stop whisking. Pour custard mixture back into pot and set on medium-low heat; cook, stirring constantly, about 3-4 minutes. Gradually sprinkle in semolina, letting it flow out of your hand in a thin stream; add a pinch of salt. Reduce heat to very low, cook, stirring constantly, until thick and smooth, about 5-6 minutes. Whisk in pieces of cut up butter, incorporating completely into the semolina custard. Remove, place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard and cool completely. When cool, stir in juice, lemon zest and vanilla. Preheat oven to 350°F. Unroll one sheet of phyllo, keeping remainder covered with dampened kitchen towel. Place on a work surface, with narrow end facing you. Brush lightly with melted butter. Place 3 tbsp of custard on lower 1/3 of phyllo. Using a thin, flexible spatula, spread custard into a wide rectangle, approximately 10x5 inches, nearly covering lower third of phyllo. Fold right and left sides of phyllo towards center so that edges just meet; lightly brush folded sides with butter. Fold lower third up and brush with butter. Fold upper third down and brush with butter. It should now look like an envelope. Place on a lightly buttered baking sheet and repeat envelope-making procedure 7-9 more times (depending on how many bougatsa you are making). Brush tops of bougatsa with any remaining butter and bake until golden-brown, about 15-18 minutes. Let cool 20 minutes before serving. Serve warm, dusted with icing sugar (you should see a coating of the icing sugar) and cinnamon.
Time 1h30m Yield 12 Number Of Ingredients 9 Steps:
Gather the ingredients. Warm the milk and lemon peel in a saucepan. Stir in semolina with a wooden spoon until the mixture is thoroughly blended and thickened. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla until light and add to the pan, stirring over medium-low heat until the mixture reaches a creamy custard consistency. Remove from heat, take out and discard the lemon peel, and allow the mixture to cool completely. Stir occasionally to keep the custard from forming a skin on top. Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Lightly brush a baking pan (13 x 9 x 2 or equivalent) with butter. Line the bottom of the pan with 8 sheets of phyllo, brushing between each sheet well with the melted butter. Add the custard filling. Fold the excess phyllo that overlaps the pan in over the custard. Top with the remaining phyllo, brushing each with butter. Use scissors to trim the top sheets to the size of the pan. Spray the top lightly with water and bake at 350 F (180 C) for 30 to 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Remove from oven, sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and cinnamon while hot, and serve warm. Enjoy!
Time 1h10m Yield 10-12 serving(s) Number Of Ingredients 7 Steps:
In a large bowl, combine the cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla and beat with a mixer till creamy smooth. Brush the bottom of a 10x14x2 inch baking pan or dish with the butter. Have ready the filo sheets, keeping them covered with plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out. Lay a filo sheet in the bottom of the pan and brush with butter. Repeat, brushing with butter, 5 more times. Pour the filling mixture over the stacked and buttered filo sheets. Drizzle the filling with a little melted butter, then layer 5 more filo sheets on top, again brushing each sheet. Cover the pan and refrigerate until the butter firms up. Can be pre-assembled up to this point. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. With a sharp knife, score the surface of the pastry through the top 5 sheets of filo dough into 10 diamonds or rectangles. Bake until golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer pastry to a rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Cut along the score marks and finish allowing to cool until warm or to room temperature. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.
