Bougatsa: The Greek Custard Cream Pastry You’ll Love
Bougatsa is a Greek custard cream pastry. It’s made with phyllo dough and has a sweet, creamy filling. This version of bougatsa is filled with vanilla custard and topped with cinnamon-spiced walnuts or pistachios.
You can make it in advance and keep it in the fridge until you want to serve it, or bake right away for an impressive dessert. A delicious pastry dish that has a smooth custard cream filling. Always served warm and dusted liberally with cinnamon and icing sugar.
We often eat it at morning in Greece. It makes for a very satisfying dessert to serve following a dinner (unless you only have a tiny piece). It is therefore best served as a standalone breakfast item or with a large cup of coffee. They work so well together.
Ingredients
Water
Add 1 cup of water.
1 cup milk
Milk is a great source of calcium and protein, which help build strong bones and muscles. Calcium also helps your heart, blood vessels, immune system, and nervous system operate properly. And vitamin D can help reduce the risk of osteoporosis (a bone disease) when you get enough sun exposure or take it in supplement form.
2 teaspoons sugar
Add the sugar, and then sift all of the dry ingredients together into a large bowl.
Sifting will ensure that there are no pockets of flour or other dry ingredients that can result in a lumpy batter.
1/2 teaspoon salt
Salt is an important ingredient for flavor, but it’s also important in texture. Without it, you’ll have a bland pastry that lacks the creaminess that makes buggatsa so delicious!
3 large eggs
You will need a large bowl. Sift together the flour and baking powder. In another bowl, beat together the egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla until thickened and pale yellow in color (about 2 minutes). Add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk to this mixture, mixing well after each addition. The batter should be smooth but not too runny.
2 tablespoons butter
Melt butter in a skillet over medium-low heat.
Let it cook for about 3 minutes until it becomes foamy and begins to brown, then remove from heat.
3 tablespoons oil
You can also use olive oil, vegetable oil and coconut oil.
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
Sift the flour before measuring it.
Don’t pack the flour into your measuring spoon.
1 teaspoon baking powder (optional)
The addition of baking powder is optional, though it does help to make the pastry rise and puff up. In fact, pastries like this one that rely on baking powder rather than yeast (the more common leavening agent) are called “quick” pastries.
Baking powder is a mixture of sodium bicarbonate, cream of tartar and cornstarch. When mixed together with water and allowed to sit for a few minutes before being added to your dough or batter, it will begin reacting with the acid in your recipe’s liquid ingredients. This reaction produces carbon dioxide bubbles that eventually expand when they come into contact with heat—the result being lighter-than-normal breads or other baked goods that have a soft crumb structure.
Custard Filling Recipe
Boil milk, sugar and vanilla extract together.
Beat the eggs and whisk them into the hot milk mixture until they are well combined. Cook this mix over a low heat until it thickens, but do not allow it to boil or else the egg will curdle and become lumpy. Remove from heat when ready. Allow custard mixture to cool completely before filling your bougatsa pastries with it.
This is a good treat after a meal.
Bougatsa Greek Custard Cream Pastry is a great treat after a meal. It can be eaten as dessert, breakfast, snack or even party food. It’s also perfect for potlucks and picnics. Greek Bougatsa comes in two different incarnations. There is the custard cream-filled version that is sold in Greek bakeries. A semolina cream is usually used in the handmade form. Although both are delicious, I have always preferred the custard cream Bougatsa.
The reason is that while custard cream presents a beautiful contrast to this very crunchy filo delicacy, semolina cream is harder and more solid. The soft, warm pastry was overflowing with cream-like consistency. It’s just PERFECT!
The bougatsa is a very popular dessert in Greece and you can find it on almost every corner. It is a type of custardy pie, similar to the French clafoutis or Italian crème caramel. The dish originated in Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) during the Ottoman period and was named after the Greek word “bougatsos”, meaning “puff pastry”. Today, we will teach you how to prepare this delicious treat at home with our recipe!
