Custard Filled Filo Recipes

HONEY CUSTARD FILLED PHYLLO TRIANGLES WITH STRAWBERRIES

Steps:

• Mix strawberries, wine and 2 tablespoons sugar in small bowl. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese, 3 tablespoons honey and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in medium bowl until smooth. Mix in cream, egg, vanilla. Spoon mixture into 9 inch glass pie dish. Bake until custard is set, about 20 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool completely.
• Combine butter and remaining 2 tablespoons honey in small saucepan. Stir over low heat until butter melts and honey dissolves. Remove from heat. Arrange 1 phyllo sheet on work surface with long side parallel to edge of surface (cover remainder with plastic wrap and damp kitchen towel). Brush lower half of phyllo lengthwise with butter mixture. Fold phyllo in half lengthwise. Brush with butter mixture. Spoon 1/8 of custard mixture near 1 short edge of phyllo. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon almonds. Fold 1 corner of phyllo over custard; continue folding as for flag, forming triangle and enclosing filling completely. Repeat with remaining phyllo, butter, custard and almonds.
• Transfer pastries to buttered baking sheet. Brush pastries with remaining butter mixture. Bake until golden brown, about 18 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with sliced strawberries and juices.

ORANGE CUSTARD RUFFLED FILO PIE

Steps:

• To prepare the simple syrup, place all ingredients in a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed skillet and boil gently for about 5 minutes, or, until the syrup is reduced and you have 2 cups of orange syrup remaining. Remove from heat and let it cool completely (this can be done ahead of time).
• Preheat the oven to 350° F.
• Line two, 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans with two large sheets of parchment paper, creasing them every now and them and making sure they fit well into the bottom and up the sides of the pans. (I use clips to help them stay in place).
• Place the stack of filo sheets (13" x 18") on a cutting board, with the widest side in front of you. Each stack is about 18-20 sheets of filo. With a sharp knife, cut the stack vertically through the center. You will now have two stacks of filo, each 13" x 9". Cover one of these stacks with a piece of wax paper or plastic wrap, followed by a clean kitchen towel, and set it aside.
• Place the second stack of filo in front of you, so the 13" side is in front of you. Take one filo sheet and place it on the counter next to your cutting board. Lightly butter it with the melted butter. Place a second one on top of the first and brush it with butter as well. (Keep the rest of the stack of filo covered, as above, while you work). Using your fingers, scrunch it into a loose pleated strip. Form a loose spiral and place it in the middle of the prepared pan. Repeat this with the remaining filo sheets of the first stack, making 8 more filo spirals and placing them close and tight in the pan. Then, do the same with the second stack of filo and the second cake pan, so you have a total of 9 filo spirals in each pan.
• Brush the top of the spirals with some more butter and bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes until the filo is lightly brown and crisp.
• While the pans are in the oven, prepare the custard. In a large bowl, cream the sugar and the eggs. Add the oil, the baking powder, the vanilla, and the orange zest. To that mixture, fold in the yogurt and set aside (this step can also be done ahead of time).
• Remove the pans from the oven. Pour half of the orange custard mixture between the and over the spirals in the first pan and half between and over the spirals in the second pan. Return the pans to the oven and bake the rosettes for another 20 minutes, or, until the custard has set in the middle.
• Remove the pans from the oven and pour the cooled orange syrup evenly over the hot filo ruffles. Wait for at least fifteen minutes, until the filo slightly cools and the syrup is mostly absorbed before you serve.

FILO ROLLS FILLED WITH CREAMY CUSTARD (SWEET BOUGATSA)

Steps:

• Warm the milk in a saucepan and add the orange zest. Bring to a simmer and set aside.
• Melt the butter in a medium pot. Stir in the semolina and mix with a wooden spoon until fragrant and lightly toasted, about 5 minutes. Gradually add the orange-infused hot milk, mixing well until thoroughly blended. Next, add the sugar and stir well until the mixture is slightly thickened. Stir in the vanilla and remove from the heat. Off heat, stir the mixture occasionally to keep the custard from forming a skin. Allow the custard to cool slightly.
• Beat the eggs and egg yolks in a mixing bowl. Add to the pot and mix well to combine - the mixture should have the consistency of a pudding. Cover well with plastic wrap and set the mixture aside until ready to use (at this point you can refrigerate it for up to four days for later use).
• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Open the box of filo and unwrap the sheets. Place on a work surface and cut the whole stack of filo sheets in half so that you are left with rectangular pieces, which measure approximately 9 x 13 inches.
• Lay 3 sheets of filo one on top of each other, brushing melted butter between each sheet. As you lay the sheets down, keep the shorter end facing you. Then, place about ⅓ cup of the custard mixture in the bottom center of the filo stack, approximately 1.5" from the edges. Fold the bottom edge of the filo over the custard and then fold in each of the sides, so the custard is fully covered by the filo. Flip the filo and custard over and away from you and brush the top with a little melted butter. Continue folding the strip of filo until you reach the end of your rectangle. At this point, tuck the end piece under the rest of the rolled filo and brush the top with butter. With the help of a spatula, transfer the filo roll to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat until you have filled as many rolls as you want.
• Bake in middle rack of the oven for approximately 12-15 minutes or until light, golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly on a baking rack. Dust with cinnamon and powdered sugar and enjoy while still a little warm.

PHYLLO-CUSTARD PIE

Steps:

• Stir 1 1/4 cups sugar and 2/3 cup water in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Add cinnamon sticks and 1/2 teaspoon orange peel and simmer 2 minutes. Set syrup aside to cool.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix semolina and 1/2 cup sugar in heavy medium saucepan. Whisk in milk and 4 tablespoons melted butter; bring to boil, whisking occasionally. Boil until mixture is thick and creamy, whisking constantly, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk eggs and 1/2 teaspoon orange peel in medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in semolina mixture. Mix in vanilla. Cool filling completely.
• Lightly butter 10-inch glass pie dish. Place 1 phyllo sheet in bottom of dish. Brush with melted butter. Top with second sheet. Continue layering with 3 more sheets, brushing each with butter. Spoon filling into dish. Top with 5 more phyllo sheets, brushing each with butter. Using scissors, trim excess phyllo from sides of dish. With very sharp knife, score tip of phyllo sheets, forming diamond pattern.
• Bake pie until phyllo is golden brown and filling is set, about 45 minutes. Transfer pie to rack. Immediately strain 1 cup cooled syrup over pastry. Cool completely. Cut into wedges and serve.

BOUGATSA (GREEK CREAM-FILLED PHYLLO PASTRIES)

Steps:

• Beat eggs until frothy; beat in sugar until thick and foamy, about 4 minutes. Set aside.
• Heat milk in medium pot until hot but not boiling.
• Remove from heat and whisk into egg mixture in a thin stream until all the milk mixture is used up - never stop whisking.
• Pour custard mixture back into pot and set on medium-low heat; cook, stirring constantly, about 3-4 minutes.
• Gradually sprinkle in semolina, letting it flow out of your hand in a thin stream; add a pinch of salt.
• Reduce heat to very low, cook, stirring constantly, until thick and smooth, about 5-6 minutes. Whisk in pieces of cut up butter, incorporating completely into the semolina custard.
• Remove, place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard and cool completely.
• When cool, stir in juice, lemon zest and vanilla.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Unroll one sheet of phyllo, keeping remainder covered with dampened kitchen towel.
• Place on a work surface, with narrow end facing you.
• Brush lightly with melted butter.
• Place 3 tbsp of custard on lower 1/3 of phyllo.
• Using a thin, flexible spatula, spread custard into a wide rectangle, approximately 10x5 inches, nearly covering lower third of phyllo.
• Fold right and left sides of phyllo towards center so that edges just meet; lightly brush folded sides with butter.
• Fold lower third up and brush with butter.
• Fold upper third down and brush with butter.
• It should now look like an envelope.
• Place on a lightly buttered baking sheet and repeat envelope-making procedure 7-9 more times (depending on how many bougatsa you are making).
• Brush tops of bougatsa with any remaining butter and bake until golden-brown, about 15-18 minutes.
• Let cool 20 minutes before serving.
• Serve warm, dusted with icing sugar (you should see a coating of the icing sugar) and cinnamon.