Gingerbread ruffled milk pie
In some sweet reality, I eat a slice of gingerbread custard pie for dessert everyday. With ice cream. The sweet layers of gingerbread custard-y phyllo turn super crispy on top to contrast the soft layers inside, similar to that of a bread pudding.
This recipe is adapted from a Bon Appetit recipe here. The original dish is a Greek dessert called Galatopita. I changed a few ingredient measurements from the Bon Appetit recipe, decreasing the sugar and butter amount. I took out the raspberries in exchange for gingerbread. Also, I changed white sugar to brown sugar and browned the butter. These changes make for a deeper, nuttier and more toffee-y flavoured custard which I think you will really enjoy. The BA recipe is wonderful too and comes with a great video tutorial which I suggest you watch before making this!
Ingredients:
12 phyllo pastry sheets, thawed in fridge overnight
1/4 cup butter, unsalted and browned
1 tbsp gingerbread spice - recipe here
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 cup full cream milk
1/2 cup pure cream or heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
powdered sugar, for garnish
vanilla ice cream, for happiness
Method:
Before baking: Thaw phyllo pastry before using by following the directions on the box.
Combine spices to create the gingerbread spice.
To make brown butter: In a small fry pan over medium heat, add butter and stir constantly as it turns to a golden brown. Once it has turned a deep golden color, turn off the heat and pour the butter into a small dish.
Preheat oven to 400F/205C fan-forced. Grease an 8x8 baking dish or cake tin with the brown butter.
Lay phyllo sheets flat. Take one sheet from the pile and using a pastry brush, brush one side liberally with brown butter. I would estimate about 1/4 tsp of brown butter is used to brush one side. Then scrunch the sheet gently with your hands, creating a big, fluffy beautiful flower. Bon Appetit has a really good video tutorial for this. Place down in the baking dish and do the same for the other 9 sheets. Keep the flowers tall and fluffed, yet don’t leave any big gaps in between them. Once they are all in the baking dish, drizzle 1 tsp of brown butter over the top. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Then, remove from the oven and turn down the heat to 350F/175C.
To make the gingerbread custard: whisk eggs, egg yolks, milk, cream, gingerbread spice, sugar and vanilla until combined. Pour the custard over the pastry, concentrating the pour in between the pastry flowers so as to not smush them.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.
Enjoy: Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
