Galaktoboureko or Semolina Custard Rolls
This post and the dessert in it is dedicated to spikesgirl58 on this, her birthday. I wish I could serve you this dessert in person, with gratitude for your generosity as a writer, artist and all around great LJ friend.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SPIKESGIRL!!
And now, the post.
***
Do you have some phyllo pastry in your freezer?
Has it been there for over a year?
Don't want to make baklava or spinach and cheese pies?
Well, make galaktoboureko (gala - milk, borek or burek - pie), a creamy semolina custard-filled dessert, that you can shape into a custard filled 'cake' wrapped, in phyllo and baked in a cake pan and then sliced into wedges, or as individual rolls, with the thick custard in the middle. The first time I made this dessert, many many moons ago, I did the former so, for a change, I chose to make the roll form. And, that's the way I had it the last time I went out for Greek food at a fancy Greek restaurant and not a Greek diner.
Tray of Galaktoboureko - serve with a bit more syrup drizzled on top
I've heard that some people even serve them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. :)
Inside the galaktoboureko
Unfortunately, I followed this new recipe to the letter and ended up with soup instead of custard for a filling so I had to do a quick fix. Luckily I'm more inclined to be creative about potential disasters at 10 pm rather than in the early afternoon cause I was tempted to pitch the whole thing and start all over the next day with my old recipe, if I could find it. But a little more semolina and time on the stove and ... SUCCESS!!
The custard recipe is enough to fill a dozen 6" long by a bit over 1" tall rolls but only 10 will fit into your 9" x13" baking pan so unless you have a larger baking sheet (ie. 11"x17" like the Farberware cookie pan) with a bit of a lip on the edge to put them on, you may have to split your rolls into 2 baking pans. I decided to just make 10 rolls and eat the remaining custard. :)
Melted butter, ice cream scoop, buttered tray ... ready to go
Use an ice cream scoop to grab some of the cold custard and place it on one end of the buttered phyllo sheets - 1/4 cup is perfect. Note that the stack of 2 sheets has been cut in half (you can just barely see the cut line) so every 2 sheets makes 2 rolls.
Spread out the semolina custard leaving one inch clear on either side
Fold the phyllo up over the custard and then roll up a couple times
Fold in the sides about an inch and then roll up the rest of the way, enclosing the custard snugly in the phyllo
Filled tray of rolls, brushed with melted butter and ready for baking
Baked and ready for syrup
Galaktoboureko (Greek Custard Pie) - Makes 12 rolls (6" long x 1" tall).
Each roll will serve two people. For a party, you can cut the roll into three portions.
Semolina custard
3 cups milk
zest of 1/2 a lemon
3/4 cup fine semolina (increased from 1/4 cup in the original recipe)
3/4 cup sugar (increase from 1/2 cup in the original recipe, as the custard is not as sweet when cold)
1 tbsp unsalted butter
3 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Syrup
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
juice of 1/2 a lemon (1 tbsp is plenty)
2 inch by 1" strip of lemon peel
12 sheets of phyllo dough**
1/2 cup and 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
** The Irresistibles brand of phyllo pastry I bought has sheets that are 12"x18" in size
Making the syrup
In a small saucepan simmer the honey, water, sugar, lemon juice and lemon peel for 5 minutes. Take the saucepan off the heat and allow to cool.
Making the Custard
Bring the milk and lemon zest to a boil in a medium saucepan and whisk in the semolina. Add the sugar and simmer for 5-6 minutes, whisking constantly as it will thicken.
Remove saucepan from the heat and stir in the tablespoon of butter and then the eggs one at a time. Stir in the vanilla.
Assembling the rolls
Melt the second amount of butter in a small saucepan on the stove, or in the microwave, until most of the butter is melted. The residual heat will melt the rest of the butter if you've used the microwave. Note that you'll want to rewarm the butter about half way through your roll assembly as the melted butter will cool rapidly if warmed in the microwave.
Brush the bottom and sides of a 9x13" inch baking pan with the melted butter.
Place a sheet of phyllo dough on a clean working area in front of you so the long side of the sheet goes from left to right. Bush the top of a sheet of phyllo dough with the melted butter with a pastry brush. (Alternatively, you may want to load the brush with the butter first, drizzle it over the sheet and then brush the butter on evenly.) Place a second sheet on top and repeat.
Cut the sheet in half across the short width so you now have 2 12"x9" sheets in front of you.
Using an ice cream scoop (1/4 cup capacity works perfectly) scoop out a portion of the custard and place it near the edge of one of the narrow ends of the phyllo sheet. Using your fingers or a spoon spread the custard evenly from left to right leaving an inch free on either side.
Fold the phyllo dough up and over the pastry and roll a couple of times.
Fold the two sides in one inch and then continue rolling your package of custard to the edge of the sheet. Place in buttered baking sheet with the cut edge down. Continue with the rest of the sheets until you've used up all the filling.
Bake in a preheated 350 deg F oven until the top is golden brown and the filling has set, about 30-50 minutes. (I let mine bake the full 50 minutes but another 5 minutes would have been better, I think.)
Place the baking pan on a cooling rack and then drizzle a teaspoon of syrup over each roll, one at a time. When done, repeat. Let cool to room temperature ... if you can resist eating them hot ... and then serve with a little bit more syrup drizzled on top.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SPIKESGIRL!!
And now, the post.
***
Do you have some phyllo pastry in your freezer?
Has it been there for over a year?
Don't want to make baklava or spinach and cheese pies?
Well, make galaktoboureko (gala - milk, borek or burek - pie), a creamy semolina custard-filled dessert, that you can shape into a custard filled 'cake' wrapped, in phyllo and baked in a cake pan and then sliced into wedges, or as individual rolls, with the thick custard in the middle. The first time I made this dessert, many many moons ago, I did the former so, for a change, I chose to make the roll form. And, that's the way I had it the last time I went out for Greek food at a fancy Greek restaurant and not a Greek diner.
Tray of Galaktoboureko - serve with a bit more syrup drizzled on top
I've heard that some people even serve them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. :)
Inside the galaktoboureko
Unfortunately, I followed this new recipe to the letter and ended up with soup instead of custard for a filling so I had to do a quick fix. Luckily I'm more inclined to be creative about potential disasters at 10 pm rather than in the early afternoon cause I was tempted to pitch the whole thing and start all over the next day with my old recipe, if I could find it. But a little more semolina and time on the stove and ... SUCCESS!!
The custard recipe is enough to fill a dozen 6" long by a bit over 1" tall rolls but only 10 will fit into your 9" x13" baking pan so unless you have a larger baking sheet (ie. 11"x17" like the Farberware cookie pan) with a bit of a lip on the edge to put them on, you may have to split your rolls into 2 baking pans. I decided to just make 10 rolls and eat the remaining custard. :)
Melted butter, ice cream scoop, buttered tray ... ready to go
Use an ice cream scoop to grab some of the cold custard and place it on one end of the buttered phyllo sheets - 1/4 cup is perfect. Note that the stack of 2 sheets has been cut in half (you can just barely see the cut line) so every 2 sheets makes 2 rolls.
Spread out the semolina custard leaving one inch clear on either side
Fold the phyllo up over the custard and then roll up a couple times
Fold in the sides about an inch and then roll up the rest of the way, enclosing the custard snugly in the phyllo
Filled tray of rolls, brushed with melted butter and ready for baking
Baked and ready for syrup
Galaktoboureko (Greek Custard Pie) - Makes 12 rolls (6" long x 1" tall).
Each roll will serve two people. For a party, you can cut the roll into three portions.
Semolina custard
3 cups milk
zest of 1/2 a lemon
3/4 cup fine semolina (increased from 1/4 cup in the original recipe)
3/4 cup sugar (increase from 1/2 cup in the original recipe, as the custard is not as sweet when cold)
1 tbsp unsalted butter
3 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Syrup
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
juice of 1/2 a lemon (1 tbsp is plenty)
2 inch by 1" strip of lemon peel
12 sheets of phyllo dough**
1/2 cup and 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
** The Irresistibles brand of phyllo pastry I bought has sheets that are 12"x18" in size
Making the syrup
In a small saucepan simmer the honey, water, sugar, lemon juice and lemon peel for 5 minutes. Take the saucepan off the heat and allow to cool.
Making the Custard
Bring the milk and lemon zest to a boil in a medium saucepan and whisk in the semolina. Add the sugar and simmer for 5-6 minutes, whisking constantly as it will thicken.
Remove saucepan from the heat and stir in the tablespoon of butter and then the eggs one at a time. Stir in the vanilla.
Assembling the rolls
Melt the second amount of butter in a small saucepan on the stove, or in the microwave, until most of the butter is melted. The residual heat will melt the rest of the butter if you've used the microwave. Note that you'll want to rewarm the butter about half way through your roll assembly as the melted butter will cool rapidly if warmed in the microwave.
Brush the bottom and sides of a 9x13" inch baking pan with the melted butter.
Place a sheet of phyllo dough on a clean working area in front of you so the long side of the sheet goes from left to right. Bush the top of a sheet of phyllo dough with the melted butter with a pastry brush. (Alternatively, you may want to load the brush with the butter first, drizzle it over the sheet and then brush the butter on evenly.) Place a second sheet on top and repeat.
Cut the sheet in half across the short width so you now have 2 12"x9" sheets in front of you.
Using an ice cream scoop (1/4 cup capacity works perfectly) scoop out a portion of the custard and place it near the edge of one of the narrow ends of the phyllo sheet. Using your fingers or a spoon spread the custard evenly from left to right leaving an inch free on either side.
Fold the phyllo dough up and over the pastry and roll a couple of times.
Fold the two sides in one inch and then continue rolling your package of custard to the edge of the sheet. Place in buttered baking sheet with the cut edge down. Continue with the rest of the sheets until you've used up all the filling.
Bake in a preheated 350 deg F oven until the top is golden brown and the filling has set, about 30-50 minutes. (I let mine bake the full 50 minutes but another 5 minutes would have been better, I think.)
Place the baking pan on a cooling rack and then drizzle a teaspoon of syrup over each roll, one at a time. When done, repeat. Let cool to room temperature ... if you can resist eating them hot ... and then serve with a little bit more syrup drizzled on top.