Galaktoboureko is a light and refreshing pie-like sweet with the delicious yellow cream sandwiched between layers of crispy phyllo dough. After it comes out of the oven, you pour syrup scented with lemon over it, and when it cools down you will have to restrain yourself from eating the contents of the pan!!!
Ingredients For the cream:
4 cups whole milk 1 ½ cups sugar
1 cup fine semolina
5 eggs 3 tablespoonfuls butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 packet phyllo dough (about) ½ cup melted butter or margarine for the phyllo For the syrup: 3 ½ cups sugar 2 ½ cups water A large piece of lemon peel 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Directions
Mix the semolina and the sugar in a bowl. Beat the eggs with the vanilla in another bowl. Pour the milk in a pot and add the semolina and the sugar gradually stirring the whole time with a wooden spoon. Let it come to a boil over medium fire, stirring all the time, until the mixture thickens. Remove the pot from the fire. Drizzle the beaten eggs in the semolina mixture, stirring the whole time. Don’t pour a large quantity of eggs, because the white will cook and you will have white strands of cooked egg white. Finally add the butter, stirring until it melts and is incorporated in the creamy mixture. Set aside to cool. You should either stir the custard now and then so that it doesn’t form a crust, or you could cover it with a piece of cling film, which should rest on the custard itself.
Preheat the oven at 180oC. Lightly butter a medium sized baking pan and start laying the sheets of phyllo dough one by one. Brush the top of each sheet of phyllo with melted butter. Use 7 – 8 sheets to cover the bottom and the sides of the pan. The sheets of phyllo should somewhat hang over the sides of the pan. Pour the custard in the pan and fold the extra fyllo over the cream. Now lay 6 – 7 phyllo sheets on top of the cream. Carefully trim the overhanging phyllo sheets with a sharp knife and fold them inside the pan over the custard. Score the top of the phyllo into square or diamond shaped portion sizes with a sharp knife. Brush the top with butter, sprinkle some water on it and bake in the oven for 30 – 40 minutes, until the top is golden.
In the meantime place the water, the sugar, and the lemon peel in a pot and boil for 5 minutes, stirring now and then to dissolve the sugar. Add the lemon juice and boil for a further 3 minutes.
When you remove the galaktoboureko from the oven, gently pour the syrup over it with the help of a ladle. Leave it until it is completely cold and has absorbed the syrup.
As the galaktoboureko contains eggs and milk, it should be kept in the fridge.