Pastry: Baked golden and flakey and doused in syrup 10/10
Presentation: Somewhat rustic, distinguishable layers 7.5/10
Value for money: N/A
Overall score: 9/10
I wanted a baking challenge so took on a traditional Greek galaktoboureko- a semolina custard pudding, a cross between a vanilla slice and baklava. I’ve reviewed them before on The Blog, but never baked with phyllo pastry prior to this. I was concerned that my syrup was too runny, but was relieved to watch it absorb and set sticky and glossy on the pasty sheets.
I studied the recipe and stuck to the processes as best as possible, with the outcome significantly better than I was expecting for my first attempt. I portioned up 10 slabs of unequal size, and hand delivered 5 to neighbours and friends in need of come freshly baked custardy love, leaving the remaining 5 for Mrs B and I to devour.
We sampled the galaktoboureko both warm, just after it had been baked, and then cold the next day. Surprisingly the pastry on day two was almost as flakey as day 1, with the syrup coating it but not making it soggy. The custard became less eggy in flavour when cold, but the creaminess and semolina texture was probably a little more rich when warm. The syrup, containing infused cinnamon and lemon zest was not just sweet, but really punchy in flavour. I think next time I may even slightly up the quantities of these two ingredients to make them more prominent.
With the phyllo pastry quite fiddly to work with I will aim to encase the pie better next time for easier removal from the tray I may even top with crushed pistachio and freeze dried raspberries for extra decoration and bitterness to cut through the sweetness and richness. A completely worthwhile venture and with all ingredients costing about $10 I would say outstanding value for money. I could easily adapt the recipe to make a dairy free version for the kids too. I will keep you posted,