Sweet bougatsa with homemade ‘Milko’

Sweet bougatsa with homemade ‘Milko’

This recipe is from Christina Mouroglou’s cookbook, Mazi: Modern Greek Food. A northern Greece speciality, bougatsa can be either savoury, made with creamy feta cheese, or sweet, made with custard, cinnamon and icing sugar, typically eaten in the morning with a side of chocolate milk.

Sweet bougatsa with homemade ‘Milko’

Lisa Faulkner’s Greek custard tart is similar to this one but it is baked for longer, for a firmer set custard.

  • Serves icon Serves 8
  • Time icon Hands-on time 45 min, Oven time 15-17 min

This recipe is from Christina Mouroglou’s cookbook, Mazi: Modern Greek Food. A northern Greece speciality, bougatsa can be either savoury, made with creamy feta cheese, or sweet, made with custard, cinnamon and icing sugar, typically eaten in the morning with a side of chocolate milk.

Lisa Faulkner’s Greek custard tart is similar to this one but it is baked for longer, for a firmer set custard.

Ingredients

For the chocolate milk

  • 800ml milk
  • 50g cocoa powder
  • 30g honey
  • 60g caster sugar

For the pastry cream

  • 1 litre milk
  • 300g caster sugar
  • 8 egg yolks
  • 60g fine semolina
  • 60g cornflour
  • 1 vanilla pod, split lengthways and seeds scraped out, or 1–2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • Grated zest of 1 lemon
  • Grated zest of 1 orange

For the filo

  • 500g filo pastry
  • 200g butter, melted

To serve

  • Icing sugar
  • Ground cinnamon
Sticky screen? No thanks! Tap to prevent your screen from going off while cooking.

Method

  1. First make the chocolate milk. Put the milk and cocoa powder in a saucepan over a medium heat and bring to a simmer, stirring. Add the honey and sugar and continue to heat, stirring constantly, until they have dissolved. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Then pour into a clean bottle and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
  2. For the pastry cream, put the milk and half the sugar in a saucepan over a medium heat and bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
  3. Meanwhile, using a balloon whisk, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar in a heatproof bowl until well combined, then whisk in the semolina and cornflour until smooth. Add the vanilla and citrus zest and whisk again.
  4. While whisking constantly, add the hot milk mixture to the egg yolk mixture in a slow, steady stream until well blended. Then pour the mixture back into the saucepan over a medium heat and whisk constantly until the mixture thickens and starts to bubble. Remove from the heat and set aside.
  5. Preheat the oven to 240°C (475°F), Gas Mark 9. Lay 3 filo pastry sheets, one on top of the other, in the base of a large shallow baking tin, about 35 x 40cm (14 x 16 inches), brushing each with melted butter as you stack them. Pour in the pastry cream and spread it out in an even layer. Cover with another 3 filo pastry sheets, again brushing each with melted butter. Fold in the overhanging filo around the edges of the baking tin, making sure there are no holes, to make it look like a sealed parcel.Brush the top well with butter and bake for 15–17 minutes until golden.
  6. Remove the bougatsa from the oven and cut the parcel into small squarish portions. Sprinkle with lots of icing sugar and cinnamon and serve hot with a glass of the cold chocolate milk.

Buy ingredients online

Recipe By:

Christina Mouroglou

Subscribe

Fancy getting a copy in print?

Subscribe to our magazine

Rate & review

Rate

Reviews

Share a tip

Or, how about...?

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Filo pastry recipes

Lisa Faulkner’s Greek custard tart

In Greece this gorgeous tart is more commonly known as...

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Baked cheesecake recipes

Baked yogurt cheesecake

Cheesecakes aren’t usually considered a healthy dessert, but this Greek...

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Festive desserts

Pistachio and walnut baklava with honey yogurt ice cream

These delicate homemade baklava are a dainty alternative to traditional...

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Retro puddings

Chocolate sponge with chocolate custard

This chocolate sponge with chocolate custard recipe brings back memories...

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Italian dessert recipes

Ricotta filo tart with figs, rum and toasted coconut

Fresh figs always make an impressive dish. Place on top...

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Filo pastry recipes

Baked feta and mint filo pastries

These cheesy filo pastries only require five ingredients and would...

Subscribe to our magazine

Food stories, skills and tested recipes, straight to your door... Enjoy 5 issues for just £5 with our special introductory offer.

Subscribe

Unleash your inner chef

Looking for inspiration? Receive the latest recipes with our newsletter

We treat your data with care. See our privacy policy. By signing up, you are agreeing to delicious.’ terms and conditions. Unsubscribe at any time.