Bougatsa (Custard Phyllo Pie)
Dinner decisions, handled: Bougatsa (Custard Phyllo Pie) pairs phyllo dough with unsalted butter for a 60-minute Greek breakfast.
✓ USDA-verified nutrition data
864 calories
19g protein
96g carbs
45g fat
1g fiber
Ingredients
- 1 lb Phyllo dough
- 1 cup Unsalted butter
- 4 cups Whole milk
- 3/4 cup Fine semolina
- 3/4 cup Sugar
- 4 large Eggs
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup Powdered sugar
- 2 tsp Ground cinnamon
Steps
- Scald the milk, then rain in the semolina while whisking — the same no-lump rule as galaktoboureko. Cook until it stands in soft folds, then whisk in the sugar off the heat.
- Beat the eggs with the vanilla and stream them into the warm (not hot) custard, whisking fast. Hot custard plus eggs equals sweet scrambled eggs; warm custard plus eggs equals silk.
- Butter a 9x13 pan generously. Layer 6 buttered phyllo sheets, pour in the custard, and fold the overhang over the top like an envelope. Finish with 6 more buttered sheets, tucking the edges down.
- Score into 12 pieces and bake at 375°F for 30 to 35 minutes until puffed and golden with crisp, crackling layers.
- Cool 15 minutes, then dust heavily with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Bougatsa is breakfast in Thessaloniki the way croissants are breakfast in Paris — eat it warm, standing up, without apology.