Bougatsa - Crispy Filo Pastry Filled With Warm Custard Cream

This Bougatsa pastry is made of velvety custard cream tucked inside a very crispy filo and served with plenty of icing sugar and cinnamon on top!

📝 Ingredients

• 1 package phyllo pastry sheets (450 grams)
• 200 grams (7 oz) butter (melted)
• 1 liter fresh milk
• 100 grams (3.5 oz) sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 40 grams (1.4 oz) cornstarch
• 4 large eggs
• icing sugar
• ground cinnamon

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- For The Cream: ---
2. 2In a mixing bowl whisk together the eggs and cornstarch. Set aside.
3. 3In a cooking pot add milk, sugar, and vanilla extract. Heat over medium-high heat.
4. 4Once milk reaches a boiling point remove from heat. Using a ladle, start pouring milk slowly, into the egg mixture while whisking constantly.
5. 5Incorporate half the milk into the eggs and then transfer the mixture back to the pot.
6. 6Transfer pot back to the heat and keep whisking until cream thickens.
7. 7Set cream aside while you prepare the base.
8. 8--- For The Base: ---
9. 9Preheat oven to 200°C / 392°F.
10. 10Lay open the filo stack on your working surface.
11. 11Grease a 15x10 inch / 38x25 cm baking dish with melted butter.
12. 12Take one filo sheet and gather it up together (to make it look wavy) to the corner of the dish. Repeat process with 4 more filo sheets to cover the whole bottom of the dish.
13. 13Drizzle using the ⅓ of the melted butter.
14. 14Bake filo for 5 minutes or until it gets a golden color all over on top.
15. 15Remove from the oven and spread the cream evenly on top.
16. 16Add the remaining filo sheets exactly the same way as you did for the base. You may tear a filo sheet apart in order to fill empty spaces.
17. 17Drizzle remaining butter on top.
18. 18Bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until filo looks crispy and deep golden in color.
19. 19Set pastry aside for 10-15 minutes.
20. 20Dust with plenty of icing sugar and cinnamon. Ready to cut and serve!