Ruffled Milk Pie

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This crispy and flaky Ruffled Milk Pie has notes of warm vanilla and sweet egg custard that simply dance on your taste buds. If you’ve never tried this Greek dessert before, this recipe will amaze you.

Ruffled Milk Pie is a Greek dessert that features soft, yet crispy layers of phyllo dough baked within a creamy custard pudding. It’s like the marriage of Crème Brûlée, and a flaky puff pastry – a warm and delicate dessert, that’s the perfect ending to any dinner party.

But what’s amazing about this recipe is that it combines the crispy, flaky characteristics of the baked phyllo dough with just the right amount of rich and creamy vanilla custard flavoring – making it an incredibly delectable dessert.

What is Phyllo Dough?

Common in Greek and middle eastern baking, Phyllo dough is a very thin flour dough that is used for delicate pastries. It’s made of flour, water, and oil – and it’s stretched into very thin, paper-like sheets. It’s the main character in this movie, and it how you treat it can really make or break this production – so be sure to be extra delicate when handling it.

The Ingredients for Ruffled Milk Pie

• 1 stick Butter (unsalted)
• 1 package Phyllo Dough
• 1/4 cup of Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1 dash of Salt
• 2 Vanilla Pods (scraped)
• 1/2 teaspoon of Lemon Zest
• 5 Eggs
• 1/3 cup Cinnamon
• 1/3 cup Brown Sugar
• Honey (optional – as topping, to taste)

The Equipment Needed

• 1 Spring-Form Pan
• 1 Baking Tray
• 1 Saucepan

Bake Your Phyllo Crust

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Coat the inside of your Spring-Form Pan with melted butter, so that it creates a non-stick surface. Set aside.

Next, take your sheets of phyllo dough, lay them flat and paint the top layer of each sheet with the melted butter (do not soak your phyllo sheets – just use enough butter to lightly cover approximately 90% of the surface area).

Then dust the top layer of each sheet with ground cinnamon, and broadly sprinkle some brown sugar onto the sheets to create small pockets of golden syrup, as the phyllo bakes.

Following that, you’ll want to fold the sheet in an accordion fashion and loosely roll it into a phyllo dough “rose.” Insert it into the center of your pan.

Repeat the above steps for prepping the phyllo dough, then place around your initial phyllo dough rose. Repeat this process with as many sheets as you need to fill in your spring form pan.

Then, take the remaining melted butter and paint the tops of the phyllo dough, so that it doesn’t burn too quickly in the oven.

Then place the pan on top of a baking sheet – and then into the oven for 20-30 minutes or until the tops of the phyllo dough become golden brown.

Remove from the oven when ready and set aside.

Craft Your Custard Mixture

In a saucepan, combine 1/4 cup of sweetened condensed milk, 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 1/2 cup milk, a pinch salt, 2 vanilla pods (scraped) and 1 teaspoon of lemon zest.

Heat until simmering so that the condensed milk dissolves and all ingredients start to incorporate – then remove from the stove promptly and let it cool until it is only slightly warm to the touch.

Strain the custard mixture and set aside.

Then in a separate mixing bowl, combine 1/3 cup of sugar & 5 eggs – and beat until all ingredients are fully mixed.

Take the custard mixture we’ve made and set aside before, and slowly pour it into the mixing bowl with the eggs, as you are continuously whisking.

Once all components of the mixture are fully incorporated, set aside.

Putting It All Together

When the phyllo crust comes out of the oven, if you have not done earlier, carefully line the bottom of the pan with foil. (You may have to let the phyllo crust cool a bit, in order to handle.)

Pour your custard mix onto the phyllo crust. The custard mix should fill most of the pan but the very tops of the phyllo crust should not be submerged in the custard mixture.

Bake again at 350°F for another 25-30 minutes or until the custard has set.

Allow to cool at least 1 hour.

Then separate from the pan and drizzle over top with a brown sugar + honey mixture. (Simply melt 1 part brown sugar and 1 part honey in a sauce pan on low heat until the mixture is fully incorporated.)

Drizzle in lines across the Ruffled Milk Pie to give it an elegant look, while adding a touch of warm, caramel sweetness to each slice.

Serve and enjoy.

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