Bougatsa
Layers of crisp phyllo pastry around a warm semolina custard, baked for 35 minutes and dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon.
Photograph credit: Bougatsa (image of bougatsa on Wikidata Q895009) by Konstantinos Stampoulis (Geraki) · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons · this resized copy is shared under the same licence
A breakfast from the streets of Thessaloniki, eaten at dawn from a paper plate with icing sugar on top. Bougatsa is a Greek pastry of paper thin phyllo wrapped around a semolina custard, and the contrast between crisp layers and soft cream is what makes it so good.
The custard is made with milk, sugar, semolina, butter, eggs and vanilla. Bring the milk to a simmer, whisk in the semolina and sugar, and stir over low heat for about 8 minutes until thick. Take it off the heat, stir in the butter, vanilla and lightly beaten eggs, and cool for 10 minutes. Do not add the eggs while the custard is boiling hot, or they scramble. Lay out the phyllo and cover it with a damp cloth to stop it drying.
Brush each sheet with melted butter, stacking 6 sheets in the tin. Spread the custard over, cover with 6 more buttered sheets and tuck in the edges. Score the top into squares and bake at 180°C / 355°F for 35 minutes, until the pastry is deep gold and crisp. Dust generously with icing sugar and cinnamon and cut into squares while it is still warm.
Bougatsa: Step by Step
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Heat the milk to a simmer, whisk in the semolina and sugar and stir over low heat for 8 minutes until thick. Off the heat, stir in the butter and vanilla and cool for 10 minutes. Beat in the eggs.
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Heat the oven to 180°C / 355°F. Brush a 30 x 25 cm tin with butter. Layer 6 phyllo sheets in the tin, brushing each with melted butter.
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Spread the custard over the phyllo. Cover with 6 more buttered sheets and tuck in the edges.
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Score the top into squares and brush with butter. Bake for 35 minutes until deep gold.
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Dust with the icing sugar and cinnamon and cut into squares.
Related guide: Pan and tin size.
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A Few Pointers
- Cover the phyllo with a damp cloth.
- Cool the custard before adding eggs.
- Score the top before baking.
What to Serve With It
Greek coffee · Tea · Orange juice
Keeping and Reheating
Best fresh, the same day.
What's in a Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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