Galaktoboureko: Greek Custard Pie

Step 1

Preheat your oven to 350 °F, 180 °C.

Step 3

​Make the syrup: In a saucepan, combine the sugar, water, cinnamon stick, and orange juice. Stir well and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and pour the honey into the syrup. Mix well until incorporated.

Step 4

​Set aside to cool completely. The syrup must be cold when poured over the hot pie so that way the phyllo stays nice and crisp.

Step 6

Make the Custard: Beat the eggs, yolks, half of the sugar, salt, semolina, and corn starch until thick and pale yellow. About 3 minutes.

Step 8

In the meantime warm up the milk in a saucepan with the remaining sugar until scalding hot.

Step 10

​Temper the egg mixture by adding some hot milk and whisking well.

Step 12

Add the egg mixture to the milk in the saucepan and cook over low heat while continuously stirring until it thickens. Once it comes to a boil it will be at the correct thickness.

Step 14

​Remove from heat and add vanilla extract and about 2 tablespoons of the melted butter, and the orange zest. Mix well to incorporate and set aside.

Step 16

​Brush some butter all over the inside of a 9 by 13-inch baking dish.

Step 18

Line the inside of the pan with a sheet of phyllo. Drizzle the top with the melted butter.

Step 20

Layer all of the sides of the pan with sheets of phyllo (one sheet at a time) and drizzle butter over each sheet. Allow half of each sheet to hang outside of the pan (see the video)

Step 22

​Pour the custard filling in the center and fold the phyllo sheets hanging over the sides on top of the filling drizzling each stack with butter.

Step 24

​Place another stack of four sheets on top and tuck the excess phyllo into the sides of the pan. Drizzle with more butter. Do the same with the final remaining sheets of phyllo.

Step 26

​Scour the pie into 12 slices or more if you will be serving smaller pieces. Try not to cut all the way down to the bottom.

Step 28

Pour all of the remaining butter on top and brush the sides of the phyllo as well.

Step 30

​Place the pie onto a baking sheet to make it easier and safer to transfer from the oven.

Step 32

​Bake for 45 - 60 minutes or until the pie is a deep golden color.

Step 34

​As soon as the pie comes out of the oven, slice over the scored marks all the way down to the bottom. Pour all of the syrup over the pie. Sprinkle a generous amount of cinnamon on top and set aside for at least 30 minutes.​Enjoy