Bougatsa

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 1 pt. dough sheets (filo dough)
• e.g. butter
• 5 eggs
• 160 g sugar
• 180 ml milk
• 3 bags of vanilla sugar, OR:
• 1 vanilla pod(s), pulp
• 1 pinch(s) cinnamon powder
• 1 bag of almonds, chopped, or sultanas
• some powdered sugar
• some fat, for the mold
• possibly desiccated coconut, walnuts, etc.

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 28 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 8 minutes

Greek puff pastry, sweet

Preheat oven to 225°C (top/bottom heat). First, grease a deep baking sheet. Place the thin filo pastry in “waves” (like an accordion), one sheet at a time, side by side, on the baking sheet. Melt the butter and carefully spread it spoonfully over the entire pastry. Place the baking sheet in the oven for about 8 minutes, until the pastry begins to brown. Note: This varies depending on the oven, so it’s best to keep an eye on it! In the meantime, whisk together the eggs, sugar, milk, vanilla sugar, and cinnamon. Then spread this mixture over the pre-baked pastry and sprinkle with almonds and sultanas to taste. You can vary this to your heart’s content, e.g., with desiccated coconut, walnuts, etc. Return the whole thing to the oven and bake for about another 20 minutes at 200°C (400°F) until the pastry is completely absorbed. Cover with baking paper if necessary to prevent the pastry from over-browning—it’s a matter of taste! Let it cool slightly and dust with powdered sugar. Traditionally, bougatsa is best eaten lukewarm (e.g., for breakfast), but I find it just as delicious cold, and it also goes perfectly with coffee in the afternoon…