Galaktoboureko is I believe one of the most tasty sweets that exist here in Greece. It is a puff pastry filled with a 'hot' mixture of sugar, milk, eggs and wheat semolina brought to taste with vanilla and some lemon juice.
It can be eaten fresh 'hot' from the oven or 'cold', but it is always accompanied with a nice strong 'Greek' coffee. I prefer this sweet over the other 'heavy' syrup sweets like Baklava or Kantaifi.
Ingredients:
For the pastry:
- 1/2L milk.
- 300 gr. of 'filo' (puff pastry) dough.
- 100 gr. sugar.
- 75 gr. wheat semolina.
- 200 gr. melted butter.
- 3 whole eggs.
- 2 egg yolks.
- 1 vanilla stick.
- flour.
For the syrup:
- 300 gr. of sugar.
- 200 ml of water.
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Preparation:
For the pastry:
- (1) Pre-warm the oven to 180° Celsius.
- (2) Boil the milk and let it cool down again.
- (3) Place a baking paper into the baking mold.
- (4) Sprinkle the baking paper with flour.
- (5) Put half of the 'filo' (puff pastry) dough, on the baking paper, in the baking mold. (MAKE SURE IT PEEPS A LITTLE OVER THE BORDERS).
- (6) Smear the 'filo' (puff pastry) dough with about 1/4 (50 gr.) of the melted butter.
- (7) In a bowl, whip the eggs, the egg yolks and the sugar until 'foamy'.
- (8) Add carefully the wheat semolina, the milk and the vanilla. (MAKE SURE THE MIXTURE REMAINS FOAMY!)
- (9) Heat the bowl so that the mixture becomes syrupy.
- (10) Take the bowl from the heat and scoop 100 gr. of melted butter through it.
- (11) Pour the mixture on the'filo' (puff pastry) dough.
- (12) Cover with the other half of the 'filo' (puff pastry) dough.
- (13) Fold the peeping dough parts (see point 5) over the cover.
- (14) Smear again 1/4 (50 gr.) of the melted butter over the entire top.
- (15) Gently (pre)cut the desired portions.
- (16) Bake the mold about 40' until auburn (golden-brown).
For the syrup:
- Put the sugar in the water.
- Boil the mixture for about 5 minutes.
- Add the lemon juice and the vanilla extract to the mixture.
- Boil 2 more minutes.
Finally:
- Pour the hot syrup over the hot pastry.
Enjoy!