Galaktoboureko — filo pastry with milk custard and lemon syrup

Put 250 g sugar in a small saucepan, add 200 g water and all 20 g strained lemon juice. Heat, stirring only until the sugar dissolves. Once gently boiling, stop stirring and simmer on low about 4–5 minutes, without substantial evaporation. Remove from the heat. Do not add peel, honey or other flavorings; all the prepared syrup will stay in the dessert.

Set the syrup aside somewhere stable for about 60–90 minutes until completely cool; it can be made ahead. Meanwhile, prepare the custard and filo. The syrup must not be warm before soaking, so do not reheat it and do not add water. Combine cool syrup with pastry straight from the oven, pouring gradually without dipping portions into separate liquid.

Pour 100 g of the total 1000 g milk into a bowl and the remaining 900 g into a larger saucepan. Add 150 g eggs without shells, 140 g sugar, 16 g vanilla sugar and 100 g fine semolina to the bowl. Whisk until uniform, without whipping into a foam. Have a spatula and stirring space ready; once the milk is hot, you will need to temper the eggs and cook the custard promptly.

Heat the 900 g milk until hot and beginning to steam. Add it to the egg mixture a ladleful at a time, stirring constantly; add about two ladlefuls this way. Pour everything back into the saucepan. Cook on low, stirring constantly from the bottom, about 5–7 minutes until the custard clearly thickens and slow bubbles appear. Do not leave the saucepan without stirring.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in all 30 g butter for the custard. Transfer the whole mixture to a wide bowl, cover the surface with plastic wrap and leave about 20–30 minutes. The custard should stop steaming and be only slightly warm before going onto the filo. It should stay thick but spreadable with a spatula. Do not thin with extra milk or water and do not add ready-made pudding.

Preheat the oven to 175°C, conventional heat. Prepare a metal pan measuring 20 × 30 cm internally and at least 5 cm high. Melt 120 g butter without browning and divide into 5 g for the pan, 55 g for the bottom and 60 g for the top. Fit the ten filo sheets to the base, trimming to about 20 × 30 cm. Keep every trimmed strip. Cover unused filo so it does not dry out.

Brush the pan base and sides with all 5 g butter. Add five fitted full filo pieces, brushing thinly with the 55 g butter portion. Distribute all reserved strips between these bottom layers as evenly as possible, without one thick pile. Brush the strips too and use all the butter assigned to the bottom. Keep the other five full pieces for the top.

Spread all the slightly cooled custard over the bottom layers, scraping the bowl thoroughly. Cover with the five reserved full filo pieces, brushing each with some of the 60 g butter for the top. Neaten the edges against the pan walls with a spatula, without removing pastry. Brush the remaining butter from this portion over the top. Do not add further fat, powdered sugar or other extras.

Using a sharp knife, score only the top filo layers to mark twelve rectangular portions in three rows of four. Do not cut through the custard or base yet. Bake on the lower-middle rack about 55–65 minutes until the top is evenly deep golden and crisp, including the center. Do not remove while the filo is still pale. The syrup should already be completely cool.

Set the hot pan on a stable trivet. Immediately ladle the completely cool syrup over the pastry with a small ladle, especially along the cuts and edges. Pause briefly to let it soak in until all is used; do not drain anything away. Beware of the hot pan and steam. Do not cover the pastry and do not return it to the oven after soaking.

Leave the dessert uncovered about an hour until it stops steaming and absorbs the syrup. Do not cut while hot, as the custard will be soft and liquid will run into the pan. Then refrigerate at least 2 hours so the filling sets before portioning. Cover only once fully chilled so steam does not stay trapped against the filo. Keep all syrup and edible crumbs in the pan.

Cut through to the bottom along the earlier score marks to make twelve portions. Lift with a wide spatula and share remaining syrup and crumbs from the pan among the portions. Serve without extra sauce, ice cream or decorations. It is best on the day it is made. Cover the rest and refrigerate for up to 2 days; the filo will gradually soften from the custard and syrup.