Galaktoboureko

Galaktoboureko is one of those gorgeous, decadent & delicious Greek desserts that are based in a semolina custard and are phyllo wrapped. It is drenched in a lemon honey simple syrup, which is spiced with a little cinnamon & clove.

Our family friend, Eleni would make this for holidays and hers was absolutely superb! We all looked forward to her galaktoboureko every time!

It is not difficult to make. The prep time is roughly 30 minutes. This is baked in a 9×12 pan. I have even divided this into two 8×8 pans, froze one unbaked for the future and baked the other for today.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!

Ingredients

2 cups heavy cream

2 cups whole milk

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup semolina

1 tbsp vanilla extract

Lemon peel

Pinch of salt

1/2 stick of cold butter, cubed

4 eggs

12 -14 sheets of phyllo (1 box)

Syrup

4 cups sugar

2 cups water

Cinnamon stick & clove

Lemon peel & juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup honey (add it at the end after making the syrup)

Directions

Make the syrup. Bring syrup ingredients (without the honey) to a simmer, until the sugar has dissolved and the liquid is clear. Turn off the heat and stir in the honey. Set aside off the stove. You will pour the cold syrup on the hot galaktoboureko)

In a large sauce pan or small pot, bring the heavy cream, milk & 1/2 sugar with lemon peel & vanilla to a simmer. Add in semolina & stir it till it has thickened.

Remove from heat and stir in the cold butter.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with 1/2 cup of sugar till fluffy.

I beat the cream to cool it off a little and then slowly whisk in the egg mixture to temper the eggs.

Set it aside.

Now, melt the butter so that you can assemble the galaktoboureko.

Working with phyllo can be tricky, but also phyllo is very forgiving. Phyllo is the Greek word for leaf, hence this dough is as thin as a leaf.

Make sure that you have defrosted your box of phyllo at least overnight in the refrigerator & have let it come to room temperature for an hour or two. Do not remove the plastic sleeve until you are ready to go! You have to work quickly because it dries out quickly.

When the butter is melted, brush some all over your chosen pan to coat. Lay your first sheet drizzling butter over that. Add the next sheets doing the same. The sheets will hang over the edge of the pan. That’s fine because you will fold them over the creamy filling. You should use the first 1/2 of the sheets in this manner to create the base.

Now pour in the filling and spread it out evenly. Bring in the sheets that are hanging over the edge to wrap the filling. Drizzle butter on them.

Now, one at a time, add the other sheets on top tucking in its edges into the pan, while drizzling butter over them.

Finally apply the final sheet, this time brushing it with butter.

At this point you can score the top sheet of phyllo with a serrated knife. Just at the top. Pour any leftover butter over that.

Bake at 320F for an 90 minutes, or until a gorgeous deep golden brown hue.

The moment you pull it out of the oven, pour the cold syrup over it and allow it to soak in for the next hour. Letting it cool down will also help you get cleaner slices.

Kali Oreksi!!!

Tip: If you have stumbled upon a phyllo box that has an ample amount of sheets, because some boxes will say 12-14, while others will say 18-22, do not fret!

You can go ahead and make something else with the rest of it. Like a tiropita (cheese pie) or a little bit of baklava! You can also store it in a ziploc bag & keep it in the fridge for a couple of weeks. Just press out all of the air.

That said, if you are like me, and you are going to use the rest of it, then you will need to know a trick to keep it from drying out. Each phyllo package comes wrapped in a thick plastic sheet. Do not throw that out until you have used up all of your phyllo. Wrap it back up & lay a damp kitchen towel over that. It will keep it hydrated while you prepare to use the rest of the sheets.

You can literally wrap anything you want and bake it, sweet or savory. Have fun with it!