Something Sweet – Soufra Greek Custard and Filo Cake
Soufra - Greek Custard and Filo Pastry Cake
If you haven't tried Soufra before, then here is your chance. My favourite one is at Boucla cafe in Subiaco, and when they didn't have any the last time I visited I knew this was my call to get in the kitchen and give it a shot myself. It is a surprisingly easy dish to make with the most time consuming part folding the filo, but once you get the hang of it time flies. Please try and get the fresh filo as I have made it with both and the fresh one was so much easier to fold. Enjoy!
Equipment
- Large (28cm) round baking dish - do not use a springform pan as the custard will leak. I used my large scanpan.
Ingredients
- 1 packet filo pastry fresh if possible
- 200 grams unsalted butter - melted
- 6 60gram eggs - if using XL 70grams use 5 eggs
- 600 ml cream
- 200 grams sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
- ½ tsp salt
- 120 grams pistachios - toasted, roughly chopped
- 4 tbsp cinnamon sugar 1 tbsp cinnamon/ 3 tbsp raw (or white) sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees fan forced, and place rack into middle of oven.
- Brush a little of the melted butter onto sides of the baking tin and line base with a circle of baking paper. The pan I used allowed for me to pop in a rough lining and made it much easier to remove the soufra for serving.
- Remove filo from package, roll out and place it with the narrower side facing you.
- Starting from the narrow end put your hands either side of each pastry sheet, lift the edges and then fold in a concertina fashion (like a fan) as you work your way up the pastry sheet until you get to the end. Mine were about and inch deep.
- Once you have done your first sheet, coil it loosely into a scroll and place it into the middle of the cake tin.
- Continue “fanning” the rest of the sheets, placing them around the scroll in the middle until all the sheets are used up, and the entire base of the tin is covered in filo.
- Brush the rest of the melted butter over the filo ensuring you coat them evenly right up to the edge of the tin.
- Place tin in oven and bake 15 minutes until golden.
- Meanwhile make the custard. Blend the cream, eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt until all combined. Making sure there are no lumps.
- Pour custard evenly over the filo, then very lightly press down on the pastry with the back of a spoon to ensure it is all coated in the custard.
- Bake for 25 minutes until golden. Remove from oven and dust generously with cinnamon sugar. Rest for at 30 minutes
- Remove from tin if it's easy to gently slide out (after running a knife around the edges). OR serve straight from the tin. Cover with toasted pistachios and slice up. We love ours warm or room temperature. Serve with dollop cream if you like but it is just as beautiful on it's own.
- Place leftovers in the fridge and remove 15 mins before serving to allow to get to room temperature.
