My favourite dessert of all time.
SERVES: 10
INGREDIENTS
50 g (9 oz) salted butter,
for brushing the filo
1 packet of filo pastry
For the syrup:
550 g (1 lb 4 oz) caster sugar
450 ml (16 fl oz) water
rind from 1 lemon
For the custard:
400 ml (14 fl oz) single (pure) cream
600 ml (21 fl oz) milk
200 g (7 oz) caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
150 g (51⁄2 oz) fine semolina
150 g (51⁄2 oz) salted butter
4 eggs
METHOD
Preheat your oven to 165°C (325°F). For the syrup: combine the sugar, water and lemon rind in a pot, place over medium heat and bring to the boil. Once the sugar has dissolved completely, set aside to cool. For the custard: in a second pot, add the cream, milk, half the sugar and the vanilla. Place over a medium heat and bring to the boil. As soon as the cream mix has come to the boil, whisk in the semolina. Do this incrementally: if you add too much at once your mix will get lumpy. Whisk until mix thickens: 5–7 minutes. Once the mix has thickened, remove from the heat and add the butter. Continue whisking until the butter is completely incorporated and the mix has cooled slightly.
Beat the eggs in a mixer with the remaining caster sugar until white and fluffy. Once the semolina mix is lukewarm, gently fold through the egg mix with a spatula. Melt the butter for brushing the filo. Generously brush a baking dish with some of the melted butter then start assembling the pie by spreading sheets of filo in the dish and brushing with butter. Repeat the process with half of the packet of filo, then spread the custard on top and fold over the filo that is hanging over the edges. Brush with butter. Set one sheet of filo aside and add the remaining sheets over the custard, drizzling each one with melted butter. Then carefully cover with the final sheet, tucking it under the edges of the pie. Score your pie into serving-sized pieces with a sharp knife; this will help keep the pastry intact when you’re cutting it later. Then pour the remaining butter over the top and bake for around 1 hour or until golden and crunchy. When ready, remove from oven and pour the cold syrup over the pie.
