Ingredients
375g Fillo Pastry
250g butter, clarified & melted
For the syrup
2 cups water
2 ½ cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp lemon juice
For the custard
3 litres milk
2 cups castor sugar
9 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla paste
½ tsp salt
2 cups fine semolina
120g melted butter
Method
Before you begin this Fillo Pastry recipe, take your Filo Pastry out of the fridge to bring it up to room temperature in its packaging.
Preheat your oven to 160 degrees Celsius.
To make the syrup
Add the sugar to the water and bring to a boil until the sugar is dissolved. Take off the heat and add the vanilla and lemon juice. Mix well and set aside to cool.
To make the custard
Pour milk into a large pot and heat until it is warm. Place the egg yolks and sugar in a heatproof bowl and whisk until creamy. Mix in vanilla. Add a ladle of warm milk to the egg mixture while still whisking. Pour the egg mixture into the pot of milk, stirring continuously. Slowly rain in the semolina and salt into the milk and continue whisking and stirring until the custard becomes thick and creamy. Add the butter and mix through. Turn off the heat.
To assemble the Galaktoboureko
Brush a 40 x 30cm baking tray with butter. Lay 6 sheets on the bottom, buttering each one. Place 2 sheets of pastry on each of the 4 sides, allowing the Pastry to hang over the sides.
Pour the custard in and spread it out. Fold overhanging Pastry over the custard. Lay 10 sheets on Pastry on top, buttering each one. Lastly, take 2 sheets of Fillo, lay across horizontally, and tuck them right in to ensure the custard is well encased. Brush the top with butter. Score the top into squares. Bake for 50 minutes or until golden.
Remove from the oven and pour the syrup over the galaktoboureko. Cut through the score marks and allow to sit for 2 hours before serving.
Recipe by Kathy Tsaples with Justine Schofield for Everyday Gourmet.