Traditional Greek Galaktoboureko recipe (Greek Custard Pie with Syrup) (2024)

Golden crispy perfection! Have a bite of this amazing Galaktoboureko and let its delicious syrup flow in your mouth! Galaktoboureko is a traditional Greek dessert made with layers of golden brown crispy phyllo, sprinkled with melted butter, filled with the most creamy custard and bathed in scented syrup.. Simply amazing!

After a lot of experimenting, we have distilled the essence of this delightful traditional Greek dish to a few easy to follow steps and recipe for you to make the very best Galaktoboureko on your first try! So, go ahead, read on to discover how to recreate this traditional sweet delight from scratch!

All the secrets to make the perfect homemade Galaktoboureko the traditional Greek way

This easy to follow Galaktoboureko recipe is made in three key stages: Preparing and layering the phyllo sheets the right way, Preparing the creamy custard filling and Preparing the scented syrup.

So lets start with preparing the phyllo! Firstly, use the right butter! To get the most flavourful Galaktoboureko use a good quality fresh butter to cover the phyllo sheets. The authentic Greek Galaktoboureko recipe calls for ‘galaktos’ butter made from a mix of sheep’s and cow’s milk, but if you can’t handle it’s very strong flavour or simply can’t find it at your local store, then you can substitute with good quality fresh butter from cow’s milk.

Secondly a little trick to make the phyllo crispier and flakier is to sprinkle the melted butter over the phyllo sheets, rather than brushing them. I always use that trick when preparing phyllo based desserts, like this Galaktoboureko recipe and baklava!.

Be quick! Working with phyllo can be tricky as it is brittle and can dry out very quickly. So make sure you check out my phyllo handling tips before start preparing this Galaktoboureko recipe!

Clarified butter! Sometimes when baking the galaktoboureko some black spots will appear on the top. These are the milk solids caramelising in the oven. If you want to avoid that then just use clarified butter or ghee.

Prepare the Galaktoboureko custard

Traditionally, Greek Galaktoboureko uses use thin semolina to achieve the grainy texture that is the main characteristic of the cream. So don’t be alarmed if it is a bit grainy, this is intentional and will result in an amazing texture when you cut through it. So how to make your custard to perfection?

Make your egg whites to meringues and fold them in the galaktoboureko custard mixture. In most recipes, the eggs are added whole towards the end, but with this Galaktoboureko recipe the eggs are beaten into meringues and combined in the semolina based cream. This is the secret to a more fluffy and creamy custard and to avoid the egg-y smell, which can ruin the flavour of your Galaktoboureko.

Add the semolina slowly to the warm milk and whisk constantly to prevent it from forming lumps!

Make sure the mixture is cool when folding in your meringues so they don’t curdle. When preparing your custard you will be heating up your milk, sugar, vanilla and semolina to get the ingredients to combine and form a cream. Before folding in the meringues make sure the custard mixture has cooled down to 50C/120F or until warm to touch else your eggs may curdle!

Use some good quality cream! There are two ways to make galaktoboureko – some recipes call for full fat milk only and others a mix of cream and milk. After plenty of experimenting I’ve found that the best custard texture and flavour comes from using a good quality double/heavy (35%+ in fat) cream. This will make your custard filling silky smooth and will taste simply divine!

Prepare the syrup for the Galaktoboureko

To achieve the perfect syrup consistency for your Galaktoboureko, you should never blend or stir the syrup while it is boiling. Just let the sugar dissolve in the boiling water, remove it from the stove and then add your honey. Honey helps the syrup not to crystallise, gives extra flavour and makes it nice and thick.

To achieve the perfect Galaktoboureko you want your phyllo to remain crispy while all the syrup has soaked through. To accomplish this make sure that the syrup is cold and your Galaktoboureko is really hot. So prepare your syrup first to give it plenty of time to cool down! Also laddle the cold syrup slowly over the hot Galaktoboureko and wait for each ladle to be absorbed fully. That way the syrup is absorbed evenly and throughout your filling.

Finally, I know, even though it will be really hard to do, you should wait for the Galaktoboureko to cool down before cutting into it! Make sure you don’t cover the galaktoboureko while it is still warm to prevent the steam from getting trapped. Steam will turn your phyllo soggy! Just leave it uncovered on the counter for an hour or so until its cool to the touch.

So go ahead, give this traditional Galaktoboureko recipe a try and amaze your friends and family!

Similar recipes to try

If you love a traditional syrupy greek desert, the below recipes are made for you! Enjoy!

• Baklava Cheesecake
• Chocolate Baklava
• Traditional Greek Baklava Recipe with Walnuts and Honey
• Greek baklava rolls recipe (Saragli)
• Chocolate Souffle in Baklava Pouches recipe
• Galaktoboureko with Kataifi (Greek Custard and shredded phyllo pie)
• Homemade Kataifi recipe
• Greek Ekmek Kataifi recipe (Custard and whipped cream pastry with syrup)
• Greek Yogurt Cake Soaked in Syrup Recipe (Yiaourtopita)
• Karidopita/Karithopita recipe (Greek Walnut Cake with Syrup)
• Greek Ravani / Revani recipe (Coconut cake with syrup)
• Loukoumades recipe (Greek Donuts with Honey and Walnuts)
• Orange cake with syrup – Portokalopita
• Samali – Semolina cake with mastic syrup
• Greek Honey cake (Melopita Sifnos)

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