Greek Vegan Custard Filo Pie – A variation on Galaktoboureko
One of my favorite Greek desserts is Galaktoboureko, layers of filo filled with custard and moistened with a sweet soaking syrup. Within the family my mothers recipe was popular. Since she’s no longer here to make it, I typically bring it to the family reunion to carry on her tradition, along with Kalitsounia (fried pies filled with ricotta or greens) in honor of my grandmother. She was the Kalitsounia maker of the family.
We had our family reunion a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to make a vegan version of Galaktoboureko, which on the face of it, is impossible. How do you take a dessert that starts with filo brushed with butter and filled with a custard made from milk and eggs and make a vegan version? It ended up being surprisingly easy, it worked on the first try! I substituted vegan butter (I used Miyokos), for butter, and coconut milk instead of dairy milk. I chose coconut milk instead of almond milk (which would be more culturally appropriate) because I wanted the custard to have a rich mouthfeel and coconut milk has a higher fat content than almond milk. I sprinkled the layers of filo with chopped toasted almonds and sugar, and added orange zest to the soaking syrup.
I call it Greek Vegan Custard Filo Pie. Here’s the recipe:
Galaktoboureko – Greek Vegan Custard Filo Pie
This is a vegan version of the classic Greek dessert, Galaktoboureko.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 35 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 8-12 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Greek
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
1/2 cup cream of rice
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2–13.5 oz cans of full fat coconut milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
7 sheets of filo
3 oz vegan butter, melted
3 tablespoons finely chopped toasted almonds
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Soaking Syrup
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup water
zest and juice of one orange
Instructions
Make The Pie
Heat the oven to 350F
In a medium saucepan combine the cream of rice, 1/2 cup sugar, and the cornstarch, mix until well blended.
Add the coconut milk and whisk to combine, don’t worry about the bits of the coconut cream, they will melt in the cooking process.
Place the pot over a medium high heat and cook, stirring constantly until the mixture begins to simmer. Stir and cook for an additional minute.
Remove from the heat and add the vanilla and almond extracts, mix well. Set aside.
Brush the sides and bottom of an 8×8 square pan, or 9″ pie plate with melted vegan butter
In a small bowl combine the almonds and 2 tablespoons of sugar
Brush a sheet of filo with the vegan butter and fold in half, place in the pan, brush the top sheet of filo with melted butter and sprinkle with the almond sugar mixture. Repeat this process 3 more times (in all 4 full sheets of filo, folded in half), using all the almond sugar mixture.
Gently spoon the custard over the filo.
Continue brushing and folding the filo with the remaining three sheets of filo. Brush the top layer with vegan butter.
Place in the oven and bake until golden, about 35-45 minutes.
While the filo pie is baking, make the syrup.
Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
Reduce to a simmer and cook until the mixture has reduced by 25%, about 10 minutes.
Remove from the heat and add the orange juice and zest.
Slowly pour the hot syrup over the freshly baked pie. Don’t rush this process or you’ll end up with syrup all over your work space. The hot filo will absorb it all if you add it slowly.
Cool completely before serving. It’s best to make it a day before you want to serve it.
Notes
Eat within a week of making, do not freeze.
Filo Tip:
This recipe doesn’t use a whole pound of filo. You can refreeze what you don’t use. The best way to do that is to thaw the filo at room temperature for about an hour. Unwrap it, remove 7 sheets for this recipe, and rewrap the leftover filo, tape the cut end and seal the box and place in the freezer until you need it.
