Vasiliki’s Galatopita

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the olive oil and rub it into the flour

Slowly add one cup of warm water and completely combine it with the flour mixture, so that it forms a soft, workable dough that doesn’t stick to your hands or the bowl

Depending on the type of flour you use, you may need to add extra water to make the dough soft

Turn the dough onto a floured bench and knead it for 1-2 minutes

Place the dough in a bowl, cover it with cling wrap and leave it to rest at room temperature for at least 2 hours

After the dough has rested, divide it into 5 portions and roll each portion into a ball. Dust each ball of dough with flour and set the balls aside

Take one of the balls of dough, place it on a floured work surface and roll it out with a regular rolling pin, so it forms a disc of approximately 20cm in diameter. Set aside. Repeat with the remaining balls of dough

Take one of the discs of dough and wrap it around the fillo-pastry rolling pin. Then, starting with both hands in the middle of the fillo-pastry rolling pin, press the fillo lightly while moving your hands away from each other. Repeat this pressing/drawing action 3-4 times

Unravel the fillo sheet and rotate it 90 degrees on your work surface

If the fillo becomes sticky, dust it with a little flour

Wrap the fillo onto the rolling pin again

Again, starting with both hands in the middle of the fillo-pastry rolling pin, press the fillo lightly while moving your hands away from each other – repeating this pressing/drawing action 3-4 times

Again, unravel the fillo sheet and rotate it 90 degrees on your work surface

If the fillo becomes sticky, dust it with a little flour again

You continue to do this until your fillo is about 60cm in diameter

Generously oil the base of a 38cm pan and drape the fillo sheet across the pan and over the edge of the pan. Drizzle the sheet with olive oil

Roll out a second fillo sheet. Drape that over the pan too, again draping some of the fillo over the edge of the pan. Drizzle some oil on top of the second fillo sheet

Roll out a third fillo sheet and place it completely inside the pan. Draw this fillo sheet up the sides of the pan and press it against the fillo sheets below, to hold it there. Drizzle the fillo sheet with a little oil and then sprinkle it with cinnamon and one heaped soup spoon of sugar

Roll out a fourth sheet of fillo, place it completely within the pan and drizzle it with oil

Roll out a fifth fillo sheet and place it completely inside the pan. Draw this fillo sheet up the sides of the pan and press it against the fillo sheets below, to hold it there. Drizzle it with a little oil

Place a tea towel over the pan to stop the fillo from drying out and set aside

Place a large pot on high heat and add the milk, flour, eggs and salt to the pot. Whisk the ingredients until all the flour has dissolved and the eggs have completely mixed through

Once the flour has dissolved in the milk, use a wooden spoon to stir the mixture

Add the butter and continue to stir the mixture

As the mixture begins to thicken, it forms lumps. Don’t worry – just continue stirring it until it thickens evenly

Once the mixture has thickened evenly, add the sugar and vanillin sugar and stir these through thoroughly

The custard is ready when it begins to form bubbles – then you know the flour has cooked through properly

Pour the custard into the baking tray and where required, smooth it out with a wooden spoon so that it forms a thick, even layer

Drizzle the fillo that is overhanging the pan with olive oil. Then twist it to form a braid and lay it down on the custard

Beat one egg yolk with a teaspoon of milk and baste the custard with this mixture

Using a second basting brush, draw up some of the oil at the edge of the pan and baste the fillo braid with this

Finally, using the latter brush, baste the fillo braid with 20g of melted butter too

Place the galatopita in an oven preheated to 200ºC and bake it for approximately one hour (not less)

Check the galatopita after 10 minutes or so and place foil over any glazed areas that have browned

Continue to check every 10 minutes or so throughout the baking process and add more foil to the browned sections of custard, but not on top of the fillo braid

Once the galatopita has baked for an hour and the fillo pastry has browned, remove the galatopita from the oven

Allow the galatopita to cool so that the custard can set properly – approximately 2 hours

Sprinkle a thin, even layer of cinnamon over the baked custard

Slice the galatopita and serve

Enjoy!