Hi reader!

You don’t even know how excited I am to SHARE this new recipe with you. I finally took the bougatsa to the next level. 🙂

I absolutely LOVE making bougatsa!

What is bougatsa you ask?

A Greek phyllo custard dessert. Imagine this dessert with crispy phyllo layers and inside the center is a vanilla custard made up of hints of vanilla, semolina, milk, and eggs. It is practically one of my favorite desserts in Greece. I remember my friend Adonis would take me to a beautiful boigatsa bakery in Athens and we would always get the hot bougatsa with chocolate drizzle and dash of cinnamon. Omg, you guys it is the best. You can get sweet or savory bougatsa and to be honest, I don’t really care for the cheese bougatsa. I am all about sweets!

I came up with this crazy idea to infuse the custard with strawberry coulis sauce because why not?!  Something different for once and I didn’t see anyone else have this recipe out there on the google world.  I took my traditional bougatsa recipe and added the strawberry sauce to the mix. My bougatsa recipe has been made around the globe and even in Greece. 

Strawberry Bougatsa Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 box of phyllo
• 4 cups of whole milk 
• 1 cup of organic sugar
• 1 cup of semolina (Amazon product link) 
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla flavoring
• 4 eggs
• Pinch of sea salt (superfine)
• ⅔ cups of unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon of lemon zest 

Strawberry Coulis Recipe

• 3 cups of fresh strawberries
• ¼ cup of organic sugar
• Optional: 3 tablespoons of limoncello (you can leave this out but it gives the mixture a nice flavor) 

**If you need semolina flour please see below.

Method:

1. To make the strawberry coulis add the chopped strawberries to the pot over medium heat and then add the sugar, and limoncello if you are using it. Cook until the strawberries are softened. Remove from heat and transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. Strain the excess seeds and set them aside. 
2. Pour milk into a saucepan and add the lemon zest. Cook over medium heat and add the semolina flour. Remove from heat and let it cool down. 
3. Combine sugar, salt, vanilla, and eggs in a medium bowl. Whisk to combine. 
4. Slowly add the warm semolina mixture to the egg mixture and make sure you don’t break the eggs. Once the mixture is done then whisk in the strawberry coulis. Mix until combined. 
5. Let the mixture cool down and prepare your phyllo dough.
6. To make an entire casserole dish- Layer the phyllo dough in a large baking dish. Brush the butter in the casserole dish, and start layering the phyllo dough. Brush each sheet with butter.
7. Pour the custard over the phyllo dough and wrap the remaining phyllo over the top.
8. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees until golden brown on top. Remove from heat and let cool. Dust with sugar and cinnamon powder. (You can try drizzling hot Nutella over the top too.)
9. To make bougatsa parcels follow the instructions- You want to use two sheets of phyllo dough per parcel.
10. Brush each phyllo sheet with butter. Place a good few tablespoons of custard on the bottom center of the phyllo dough.  Fold the phyllo over the custard, bringing edges to the center until you have a tightly wrapped square-shaped pastry.
11. Place parcels onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush with butter and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool. Serve warm and dust with powdered sugar and fresh strawberries.

Kali orexi!

If you do make this recipe please tag us! Tag #cookingwithkouzounaskitchen. 🙂

All photos by @Kouzounaskitchen credits 2021. All rights reserved.