Filo Vanilla Custard Pie

This filo vanilla custard pie is an adaptation of Bougatsa, a Greek pastry made from a spiral of crisp wafer-thin, buttery filo pastry, filled with lemon-scented semolina and vanilla custard.

Found in bakeries all over Greece, it is eaten as a mid-morning snack during their work break, or with their afternoon coffee.

My version is simpler to make and comes together really quickly, making it great for a quick recipe to make during the week for the family to enjoy.

If you decide to give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment below and rate it – it’s really helpful to me and other readers knowing what you think! And don’t forget to take a picture and tag me @thegourmetlarder or hashtag it #thegourmetlarder on Instagram or Facebook. I love seeing what you’ve been baking! 🙂

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RECIPE HIGHLIGHTS

• EASE: easy.
• FREE FROM: for ideas on sugar and dairy-free, check my substitutions section for details.
• GREAT FOR: breakfast, lunch or dinner, picnics, friends and family visiting.
• TASTE & TEXTURE: crispy, buttery filo pastry filled with the creamiest lemon scented vanilla custard.
• SERVING: great after any meal or with a cup of coffee.
• MAKES: 8 slices

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INGREDIENTS

For this filo vanilla custard pie recipe all you need are these ingredients:

• Whole milk – is essential in creating the vanilla lemon custard that fills this pie.

• Lemon peel (optional) – used to flavour the custard.

• Butter – for creating crisp buttery pastry layers and enriching the vanilla custard.

• Fine semolina – is important to get a really delicious custard and for it to have that distinctive texture.

• Caster or granulated white sugar – just a little to sweeten the custard.

• Egg – helps to build structure and set the custard. Egg-free version – the egg can be omitted entirely, but the custard will not be as light or set as well but will be deliciously creamy.

• Pure vanilla extract or paste – really adds to the custard’s flavour.

– Vanilla recommendations: pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste or vanilla pods.

• Filo dough (170g) – creates a crisp buttery pastry to hold our custard.

• Icing sugar and ground cinnamon – adds a little more sweetness and that warm cinnamon taste.

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SUBSTITUTIONS

I haven’t tried any of these substitutions, but they should work for this recipe, I would love to know how you get on and share it with the other readers.

SUGAR-FREE AND LOW-CALORIE OPTIONS

• Sugar-free or calorie reduced options: try alternatives such as coconut sugar, honey, natural erythritol, xylitol, stevia or fructooligosaccharide powder instead. There are also sweetener mixes available, that are 70% calorie reduced and low in carb.

• Brown sugar suggestions: Pure Via Baker’s soft brown sugar or Sukrin Gold’s natural brown sugar alternative.

• Icing sugar suggestions: try alternatives such as Pure Via Baker’s icing sugar or Canderel Bake! sugar free icing sugar.

VEGAN OPTIONS

• Dairy-free milk: replace the milk with non-dairy milks such as almond, oat, rice or soy milk.

• Butter: I recommend Naturli vegan block or Flora plant-based block butter alternative.

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WHAT VARIATIONS CAN I MAKE?

The pastry is very versatile, try topping it with almond slithers or rum soaked raisins prior to being baked.

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NUTRITION

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STORAGE AND FREEZING

This filo pie is great served still warm from the oven, as the pastry is nice and crispy. Any leftovers will keep for a day or two.

Freezing: I don’t advise freezing as you really want to keep the pastry as crisp as possible. Freezing tends to allow the pastry to absorb moisture thus creating soft pastry and re-heating doesn’t help. For best results make fresh every time.

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TOOLS YOU’LL NEED

Here is some kitchen equipment that I use and recommend for this recipe.

• Earthenware Mixing Bowl Mason Cash, Cream 29 cm Chip Resistant.

I like the sturdiness of this bowl and its 4 litre capacity means I can use it for mixing just about everything in the kitchen. It is also microwave, freezer and dishwasher safe.

• Mixing Bowls Set of 5, Stainless Steel Nesting Bowls with Airtight Lids, 3 Grater Attachments, Size 5, 3, 2, 1.5, 0.63 QT

These different size mixing bowls are really useful depending on the amount of food you are preparing. They also have airtight lids that fit snugly to seal and keep food fresh, great for using as dry storage bowls with lids. The plastic lid of the largest bowl has a removable centre, where one of 3 graters can be used for grating cheese or vegetables.

• 3 Plastic Mixing Bowls, Non-Slip Base, Soft Grip Handle, Microwave and Dishwasher Safe, Compact, Stackable, Ideal for baking and cooking, off-white, 1.5 Litre, 2 Litre, 2.5 Litre.

I do own a plastic mixing bowl but I am personally not a big fan of them. These 3 bowls are on the smaller size but good for the odd cake making.

• Pastry Brush

This brush is both flexible and durable, being able to withstanding extreme temperatures.

• Bartleet & Sons Traditional Porcelain Round Flan Dish, 27cm – White

 Classic round flan mould is ideal for cooking, baking and serving quiches, fruit flans and tarts.

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TIP: I highly recommend using metric measurements and a digital kitchen scale, rather than cup measurements. If you have ever ended up with dry, dense or crumbly baked goods, it might be because of inaccurate volume measurements, not all measuring cups are made equally. All my recipes on this blog are carefully developed so that you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success, using metric measurements. It is also a lot easier, less messy and you will get far better, consistent results. 🙂
If you are interested in understanding conversions, here you will find the best conversion chart.

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