BOUGATSA WITH SOUR CHERRY DRIZZLE
Prep: 30 minutes. Cooking: 45 minutes. Serves 8-10.
200g unsalted butter, melted 12 sheets store-bought thin filo pastry 4 eggs
2 egg yolks
¾ cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
400ml full-cream milk
400ml pouring cream
½ lemon, zested
1 teaspoon baking powder
100g sour cherry jam
50g icing sugar 1 Preheat oven to 200ºC (180ºC fan). Brush base of a 35x25cm baking tray with a little of the melted butter.
2 Generously brush a sheet of filo with butter and place on tray, allowing filo to overhang all 4 sides. Repeat with 5 more sheets.
3 Brush one of the remaining 6 sheets of filo with butter, scrunching it lengthways and laying it along the length of tray. Repeat with remaining 5 sheets.
4 Brush pastry with butter, then cut off overhanging filo. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
5 To make custard, place eggs, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla bean paste, milk, cream, lemon zest, baking powder and a quarter teaspoon of salt in a medium bowl. Whisk until well combined and set aside.
6 Remove tray from oven and evenly pour custard over pastry. Allow custard to soak into filo for 10 minutes, before returning tray to oven to bake for a further 20 minutes.
7 Meanwhile, place sour cherry jam and 30ml of water into a deep bowl. Using a stick blender, blend into a puree. Place in a small saucepan and bring to a light simmer over low heat, stirring throughout, for 60 seconds. Set aside.
8 Allow bougatsa to cool before cutting into 6 large squares. Use a spatula to transfer onto a serving plate, then cut each square into 9 smaller squares. To serve, drizzle bougatsa with warm sour cherry puree, then sprinkle with icing sugar.