This Galaktoboureko Greek Dessert is a delicious recipe that’s easy to make. Famous for its mouth-watering custard, sweet syrup, and flaky pastry, it goes perfectly with Greek coffee. Keep it refrigerated and serve it at room temperature so that your loved ones can enjoy every bite of this Galaktoboureko.
The Galaktoboureko Greek dessert is very easy to prepare and only takes an hour in the oven to bake. I’d recommend making it the night before so that it can rest in the fridge and set before serving it.
Galaktoboureko Greek Dessert
Course: DessertCuisine: Greek20
servings20
minutes1
hourIngredients
- Syrup
700g Caster Sugar
500mL Water
1 x Cinnamon Stick
2 x Lemon Peel
- Custard
2.5 Vanilla Sugar Sachets
2L Full Cream Milk
200g Caster Sugar
4 Eggs
2 Egg Yolks
230g Fine Semolina
60g Unsalted Butter
- Pastry
1 x Filo Pastry Packet
Directions
- Syrup
- Place all Syrup ingredients into a saucepan and mix on high heat.
- Once it boils, lower the heat to medium and allow to cook for 5 minutes without stirring.
- Turn heat off and leave aside to cool.
- Custard
- Pour all sugars and half of the milk into a pot.
- Stir on a medium to high heat with your whisk.
- As it begins to bubble, add the semolina.
- Continue to whisk and add more milk as it starts to thicken.
- The custard should fall off your whisk in blobs and it shouldn’t be runny.
- Once you’re happy with the consistency, turn the heat off.
- In a separate bowl, place all your eggs and ladle some of the hot custard into the bowl. Whisk thoroughly to avoid scrambled eggs. Repeat this process 2-3 times to temper your eggs.
- Pour your warm egg mixture to the custard and continue to whisk until there are no clumps.
- Allow your custard to cool but place clear wrap over the top of your custard to avoid it forming a skin/crust.
- Fill up your sink with cold water and place the pot into the sink so that the cold water surrounds the pot. This will speed up the cooling process.
- Filo Pastry
- Melt the butter and brush the base of your dish.
- Place a layer of filo pastry into your dish horizontally and dip your brush in the butter to sprinkle it over the filo pastry.
- The next layer of filo pastry should be placed vertically. Again, use your brush to sprinkle melted butter over the top.
- Continue steps 2 and 3 alternating each filo sheet horizontally and vertically for the first 10 sheets.
- After 10 sheets have been placed into your dish, tuck in all the edges by folding the sheets back into the dish.
- Pour the custard into the dish, and evenly distribute the custard with the back of your wooden spoon.
- Repeat steps 2 and 3 to add another 10 sheets of filo pastry on top of the custard. Remember to sprinkle butter on each horizontal and vertical layer.
- On the final layer, fold all edges over the top of the dish and sprinkle any remaining butter.
- Carefully cut your dessert into your desired amount of pieces but the trick is not to cut all the way through. You only want to pierce it and cut halfway through. This will allow the syrup to seep into the custard when we are ready to pour it.
- Cooking Process
- Bake for 1 hour (or until golden brown) on 180°C.
- Pouring The Syrup
- Pour the cold syrup onto the hot galaktoboureko as soon as it comes out of the oven.
- Use a ladle to scoop up the syrup and evenly distribute it paying close attention to the cuts you made earlier.
- Allow to cool before placing into the fridge
- Serve at room temperature.
Commonly Asked Questions
How long can you keep Galaktoboureko?
If you place your galaktoboureko in an airtight container and in the fridge, you can keep it for up to 5 days without it spoiling.
What is the difference between Bougatsa and Galaktoboureko?
Both Greek desserts are made from filo pastry and contain custard but the main difference is the syrup. The main feature of Galaktoboureko (aside from the custard) is that it is coated in a sweet syrup. Bougatsa (also famous for its custard) is dusted with cinnamon and icing sugar and doesn’t include syrup.
Does Galaktoboureko need to be refrigerated?
Yep, if you want to eat Galaktoboureko over the next couple of days of making it, then you should keep it in the fridge before eating. Typically you would serve Galaktoboureko at room temperature after removing it from the fridge.
How do you pronounce Galaktoboureko?
The word Galaktoboureko can be difficult to pronounce and even more difficult if you’re not Greek.
Pronounce Galaktoboureko like so (ga-luk-to-boo-re-ko). But if you’re still not sure how to say it, watch how to pronounce it here.
What does Galaktoboureko mean?
The direct translation of Galaktoboureko is “milk burek”. Burek means “baked filled pastries”. For more info about the history of Galaktoboureko and where it came from, you can visit here.
