Η συνταγή και στα ελληνικά στο τέλος της ανάρτησης!
As I have mentioned in a previous post after the loss of war from Turkey in 1922, Greece had to accept about 1,500,000 Greek refugees from Asia Minor who had to abandon their homes and land and come here.
Greece at that time was completely broke after the war and people here were exhausted and devastated. Most of the families had lost male children in that war and their economic situation was miserable. When all these refugees came here, the locals were very hostile and suspicious towards them. The truth is, that no one can blame them for this behavior. You cannot ask from a person to be tolerant when this means that he will have to share his, anyway, limited food. People were afraid that the newly comers would steel their jobs and eventually drove them to an even deeper poverty. Things were so tensed in the beginning that they used the refugees as a threat for their children to eat or behave. My mother told me that her father changed his last name, so as for him and his family to avoid all this harassment.
Nevertheless, as the years passed by, slowly but steadily, these new inhabitants started creating roots here. Locals begun to accept and even create bonds with them, either by becoming friends with them or by marriage.
These newcomers although poor, having to leave their homes with only the clothes they were wearing, they brought so many other things with them. They brought their customs, their values and of course their food.
Their dishes came to “graft” the local kitchen and increased the number of choices anyone had.
Galaktoboureko is one such sweet. It came along with the Greek refugees from Asia Minor and thus has a great influence from the Middle Eastern sweets. It consists of phyllo sheets and in the middle a custard made from fine semolina. It is baked in the oven and it is then bathed in a thick syrup.
The most famous Galaktoboureko in Athens is sold downtown and it’s the one from ‘Kosmikon’. ‘Kosmikon’ is a pastry shop that has become very well known for its secret recipe for Galaktoboureko. Truly, I think is one of the best if not the best Galaktoboureko I have ever tried. People travel from different parts of Athens to go and buy it from one of the three stores this pastry shop owns.
I decided to make a Galaktoboureko this weekend, because I suddenly had an urge for something sweet and creamy. I found several recipes and after reading and testing, I finalized it and made it. It was so delicious. I decided to change a little things and I didn’t make it overly sweet, plus I made the cream smoother than the usual one. For this reason instead of using only semolina, I used a combination of fine semolina and corn starch. The result was a not overly sweet dessert with a very smooth cream in which semolina doesn’t show almost at all. I made double the dose for the cream because my husband loves it this way! It is very easy and if you decide to make it, you will love it!
Galaktoboureko
Ingredients
For the Cream
800 ml / 27 fl oz. fresh milk
100 gr. / 3.5 oz. sugar
2 eggs
50 gr. / 1.7 oz. fine semolina
30 gr. / 1 oz. corn starch
1 tsp vanilla extract
40 gr. / 1.4 oz. real butter
For the Syrup
500gr. / 17.5 oz. sugar
300 gr. / 10.5 oz.water
20 gr. / 1 tbsp glucose
½ kilo / 1 package of phyllo
250 gr. / 8.8 oz. real butter, melted
Instructions
First we make the syrup.
We pour the cold syrup to the Galaktoboureko the minute it comes out of the oven.
For the Syrup
In a pot we boil the syrup in high heat ingredients for 5 minutes from the moment it starts to boil.
Remove from fire and let it cool.
For the Cream
In a pot pour the 700ml / 23.6 fl oz. of milk and 50 gr. / 1.7 oz. of sugar and put it in medium heat.
Take a bowl and add the rest of the sugar the eggs, the rest of the milk, the semolina, the corn starch and the vanilla extract.
Whisk to incorporate.
When the milk starts to get hot, take couple of spoonfuls of it and pour it to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients and whisk.
In this way you bring both batters at the same temperature.
Remove the pot from fire and pour the egg/semolina batter to it whisking continuously.
Bring back to fire, add the butter and continue to whisk until it thickens.
Remove from fire and put aside.
Take a rectangular pan with dimensions 34cm X 25cm / 13 in. X 10 in.
Butter it really well and start to pile the phyllo sheets and follows.
Take a phyllo sheet and lay it in the pan.
Butter it very well.
Put another phyllo sheet over the first.
Butter it as well.
Continue like this until you have laid half of the phyllo sheets or half plus one if the number of phyllos is odd.
Throw the cream and spread it to cover all the surface of the phyllo.
On top of it follow the same procedure as before putting the rest of phyllo sheets one by one buttering each one of them.
Cut the top phyllo sheets in diamonds or squares.
Be careful with the knife to not let the cream flow and also not to cut the bottom layers of phyllo.
Preheat oven to 160° C / 320° F.
Place the pan in the oven and bake for 50 to 55 minutes depending on the oven or until the phyllo has taken a deep golden color.
Immediately after you take the sweet out of the oven, you pour the cooled syrup on top of it.
Let it absorb as much syrup as possible and cool down.
Cut and serve!
- 800 ml / 27 fl oz. fresh milk
- 100 gr. / 3.5 oz. sugar
- 2 medium eggs
- 50 gr. / 1.7 oz. fine semolina
- 30 gr. / 1 oz. corn starch
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 40 gr. / 1.4 oz. real butter
- 500gr. / 17.5 oz. sugar
- 300 gr. / 10.5 oz.water
- 20 gr. / 1 tbsp glucose
- ½ kilo / 1 package of phyllo
- 250 gr. / 8.8 oz. real butter, melted
- First we make the syrup.
- We pour the cold syrup to the Galaktoboureko the minute it comes out of the oven.
- In a pot add all the ingredients and bring to boil in high heat.
- Boil for 5 minutes from the moment it starts to boil.
- Remove from fire and let it cool.
- In a pot pour the 700ml / 23.6 fl oz. of milk and 50 gr. / 1.7 oz. of sugar and put it in medium heat.
- Take a bowl and add the rest of the sugar the eggs, the rest of the milk, the semolina, the corn starch and the vanilla extract.
- Whisk to incorporate.
- When the milk starts to get hot, take couple of spoonfuls of it and pour it to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients and whisk.
- In this way you bring both batters at the same temperature.
- Remove the pot from fire and pour the egg/semolina batter to it whisking continuously.
- Bring back to fire, add the butter and continue to whisk until it thickens.
- Remove from fire and put aside.
- Take a rectangular pan with dimensions 34cm X 25cm / 13 in. X 10 in.
- Butter it really well and start to pile the phyllo sheets as follows.
- Take a phyllo sheet and lay it in the pan.
- Butter it very well.
- Put another phyllo sheet over the first.
- Butter it as well.
- Continue like this until you have laid half of the phyllo sheets or half plus one if the number of phyllos is odd.
- Throw the cream and spread it to cover all the surface of the phyllo.
- On top of it follow the same procedure as before putting the rest of phyllo sheets one by one buttering each one of them.
- Cut the top phyllo sheets in diamonds or squares.
- Be careful with the knife to not let the cream flow and also not to cut the bottom layers of phyllo.
- Preheat oven to 160° C / 320° F.
- Place the pan in the oven and bake for 50 to 55 minutes depending on the oven or until the phyllo has taken a deep golden color.
- Immediately after you take the sweet out of the oven, you pour the cooled syrup on top of it.
- Let it absorb as much syrup as possible and cool down.
- Cut and serve!
- 800 ml φρέσκο γάλα
- 100 γρ. ζάχαρη
- 2 αυγά
- 50 γρ. σιμιγδάλι ψιλό
- 30 γρ. Κορν φλάουρ
- 1 κ.γ. εκχύλισμα βανίλιας, ή μία βανιλλίνη
- 40 γρ. βούτυρο
- 500 γρ. ζάχαρη
- 300 γρ. νερό
- 20 γρ. γλυκόζη
- ½ κιλό φύλλο
- 250 γρ. βούτυρο, λιωμένο
- Πρώτα κάνουμε το σιρόπι.
- Ρίχνουμε το κρύο σιρόπι στο γαλακτομπούρεκο, την στιγμή που βγαίνει από το φούρνο.
- Σε μια κατσαρόλα βράζουμε το σιρόπι σε υψηλή θερμοκρασία για 5 λεπτά από τη στιγμή που φτάνει στο σημείο βρασμού.
- Βγάζουμε από τη φωτιά και αφήνουμε να κρυώσει.
- Σε μια κατσαρόλα ρίχνουμε το 700ml γάλα και 50 γρ. ζάχαρη και βάζουμε σε μέτρια φωτιά.
- Παίρνουμε ένα μπολ και προσθέτουμε την υπόλοιπη ζάχαρη, τα αυγά, το υπόλοιπο γάλα, το σιμιγδάλι, το κορν φλάουερ και το εκχύλισμα βανίλιας ή τη βανιλλίνη.
- Ανακατεύουμε να ενσωματωθούν.
- Όταν το γάλα αρχίζει να ζεσταίνεται, παίρνουμε μερικές κουταλιές από αυτό και τις ρίχνουμε στο μπολ με τα υπόλοιπα συστατικά και ανακατεύουμε.
- Με αυτόν τον τρόπο φέρνουμε το μίγμα στο μπολ στην ίδια θερμοκρασία με το γάλα.
- Βγάζουμε την κατσαρόλα από τη φωτιά και ρίχνουμε το μίγμα αυγού/σιμιγδαλιού ανακατεύοντας συνεχώς.
- Βάζουμε πίσω στη φωτιά, προσθέτουμε το βούτυρο και να συνεχίζουμε να ανακατεύουμε μέχρι να πήξει.
- Βγάζουμε από τη φωτιά και το βάζουμε στην άκρη.
- Παίρνουμε ένα ορθογώνιο ταψί με διαστάσεις 34cmX25cm.
- Το βουτυρώνουμε πολύ καλά.
- Παίρνουμε ένα φύλλο και το απλώνουμε στο ταψί.
- Βουτυρώνουμε πολύ καλά.
- Βάζουμε ένα άλλο φύλλο πάνω από το πρώτο.
- Βουτυρώνουμε επίσης.
- Συνεχίζουμε έτσι έως ότου χρησιμοποιήσουμε τα μισά από τα φύλλα κρούστας, ή τα μισά συν ένα αν ο αριθμός των φύλλων είναι μονός.
- Ρίχνουμε την κρέμα και απλώνουμε να καλύψει όλη την επιφάνεια του ταψιού.
- Πάνω από την κρέμα ακολουθούμε την ίδια διαδικασία όπως και πριν βάζοντας τα υπόλοιπα φύλλα κρούστας το ένα πάνω στο άλλο και αλείφοντας κάθε φορά με βούτυρο.
- Κόβουμε τα φύλλα σε τετράγωνα κομμάτια προσέχοντας να μην ξεχειλίσει η κρέμα.
- Προθερμαίνουμε το φούρνο στους 160° C.
- Τοποθετούμε το ταψί στο φούρνο και ψήνουμε για 50 έως 55 λεπτά, ανάλογα με το φούρνο, ή έως ότου τα φύλλα πάρουν ένα ροδοκόκκινο χρώμα.
- Βγάζουμε το γλυκό από το φούρνο,και αμέσως το περιχύνουμε με το δροσερό σιρόπι από πάνω.
- Αφήνουμε να απορροφήσει όσο το δυνατόν περισσότερο σιρόπι και να κρυώσει.
- Κόβουμε και σερβίρουμε!