Mom’s Bougatsa
This recipe is incredibly special to me. In my family, my mom is famous for her bougatsa. She makes it for every holiday and family event and I have many memories of watching her standing over the pot vigorously stirring the custard. Bougatsa can be eaten at room temperature, but my mom loves to bring her unbaked bougatsa wherever we’re going and bakes it at their house so it’s piping hot when it hits the table. This traditional Greek sweet is meant to be shared but I can’t guarantee they’ll be any leftovers!
Bougatsa
Servings: 6-8 people
4 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cream of rice
4 egg yolks
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 tablespoons melted butter
8 sheets of phyllo
We’re going to start by making the custard for the bougatsa. In a large pot pour in the whole milk and turn the flame on a low-medium setting.
Slowly pour in the sugar and cream of rice while continuously stirring so that it doesn’t clump. Bring this mixture to a simmer to ensure that the sugar melts and the cream of rice starts to cook.
Seperate the egg yolks from the whites and place your whites in the fridge. We won’t be using them in this recipe.
Place the egg yolks and vanilla in a blender and blend the two together until the yolks are fully broken up. You can use a fork or whisk if you don’t have a blender but this is the way my mom likes to do it! You’re looking for the yolks to slightly thicken.
At this point, the milk should be close to a simmer, if not simmering already. You’re going to add the egg yolks very slowly while continously stirring the custard with your spoon. Adding the yolks slowly will ensure that they don’t curdle in the custard.
Once all the eggs are added, continue to stir the custard until it thickens and comes to a slow boil. If you don’t continuously stir the custard at this stage, you run the risk of burning the bottom and sides.
Once it’s slowly boiling, take the custard off the heat and let it come to room temperature. If you use the custard while it’s still hot, the bottom layer of the bougatsa will get soggy (or at least that’s what my mom says!).
Next, we’re going to assemble the bougatsa! You’re going to want to use a deep casserole pan for your bougatsa. The last time we made it, we used a glass pyrex and it worked great!
Use a pastry brush to brush some of the melted butter all over your pan. You’ll want to get the bottom and edges of the pan really well so your phyllo gets nice and golden brown.
Take 4 sheets of phyllo and cover the entire bottom and sides of the pan. Make sure the edges of the pan are fully covered so the filling doesn’t spill out while it’s baking. You’ll have to overlap the sheets of phyllo to achieve this. Once all 4 sheets are in the pan, brush butter on all of the sheets so they don’t get dry.
Place another 2 sheets of phyllo directly on the bottom of the pan, brushing each sheet with butter. All together you’ll have 6 sheets of phyllo as your bottom layer. This will ensure that you have a sturdy bottom for the bougatsa.
Pour all the custard into the pan and spread it evenly over the phyllo.
Once you have an even layer of custard, fold the phyllo that’s hanging over the sides over the filling. This will create a “package” effect and this will also help stop the filling from spilling out while it’s baking.
Place the remaining 2 sheets of phyllo directly over the filling, making sure to brush butter over each sheet.
Brush the remaining butter over the top of the bougasta.
Bake the bougatsa in a 350-degree oven for about 45 minutes until its crisp and golden brown.
After the bougatsa cools slightly, sift a generous amount of powdered sugar over the top. Cut and enjoy your bougatsa hot or at room temperature!
*It’s very common for bougatsa to have citrus in the custard. My family isn’t a fan of that flavor so we never use it but feel free to use lemon, or orange zest in your custard for a fresh flavor!