Ingredients
375g Antoniou Fillo Pastry
150g unsalted butter, melted
400ml thickened cream
1 cup caster sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Zest of 2 oranges
½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
Icing sugar, for dusting
Method
Before you begin this Filo Pastry recipe, take your Filo Pastry out of the fridge to bring it up to room temperature in its packaging.
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius fan forced.
Grease a 30cm round baking dish with butter. Lay one sheet of Filo Pastry in the baking dish, allowing the edges to overhang. Brush with butter. Repeat this step with three more sheets of Pastry, rotating them slightly to cover all the sides. Trim any excess Pastry overhanging and add it to the base of the dish. Brush with butter.
Lay one sheet of Fillo pastry onto your workspace, with the long side of the Fillo Pastry facing you. Brush with butter. Lay another sheet of Fillo on top and brush with butter. Using your fingers, roughly fold the Pastry in a concertina design. Coil the Pastry into a spiral, ensuring it is not too tight. Transfer to the centre of the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining Fillo Pastry, placing it around the centre spiral until the tray is full. Be sure not to compact the Pastry too closely together, as you want to create pockets for the custard to fall in when you add it.
Drizzle and brush the Fillo Pastry with the remaining butter. Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
To make the custard, combine the thickened cream, eggs, vanilla bean paste, orange zest, orange juice and poppy seeds into a bowl and whisk until well combined. Add the sugar and whisk constantly until the sugar has mixed in well. Gently and slowly ladle the custard over the Fillo Pastry, ensuring it seeps into all the cavities. It is essential to do this slowly so that the custard has time to drip through to the base. Shake the dish lightly to evenly distribute the custard.
Transfer the dish back into the oven and bake for approximately 30 minutes until the Pastry is golden and the custard has mostly set. Remove the Soufra from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes before sprinkling icing sugar over the top.
Watch how to make an Orange and Poppyseed Soufra