I will not write a long intro. I already did that when I wrote my “Portokalopita” recipe (Greek orange pie). You see, I had to share everything about the culinary challenges I had to face when baking this divine, Greek, traditional, dessert pie. It drove me crazy! But it all ended well and I was one happy gal, until a lovely cook I follow on Instagram (@pastrywithjenn), posted a video on how to bake a phyllo pastry, milk pie.

In this video, she plaited each phyllo pastry by scrunching it with her fingers. Then she placed all pieces she plaited in a round cake pan, so that they resembled a rose. I was smitten immediately! This looked so divine and pretty, I had to adapt my “Portokalopita” into this gorgeous circle of a million phyllo layers and creamy custard.

I added pistachios for extra crunch and they worked really well, like an orange flavoured, creamy baklava. The key to this pie’s success is pre-baking the phyllo and using a 14” (35cm) round cake pan. If you use a smaller pan, the custard won’t penetrate all the phyllo pockets and you may get dry spots in your pie (horror!). If you don’t have such a big pan you can use 2 x 9” cake pans and make 2 smaller pies.

I said no long intro. So I will stop writing now. One last thing: It’s divine!

For a less sweet, more tangy variation check out the Rose Phyllo Pie with Lemon-Mastic Custard and Orange Blossom syrup.

For the Syrup:

• 1 ½ cups water
• 1 ½ cups orange juice
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick

For the phyllo pastry:

• 450 grams phyllo pastry
• ¼ cup butter
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 cup unsalted pistachios, roughly chopped in a small blander

For the yogurt custard

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 packed Tbs Orange zest (you will need about 5 medium-large oranges)
• ½ cup orange juice
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1 cup and 2 Tbs (300 grams) Greek yogurt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder

Method:

First make the syrup by mixing all ingredients together in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to medium and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Let syrup cool completely. Transfer to the fridge until needed.

Prepare the phyllo pastry: Preheat oven to 160 C. Brush the base and sides of a 35cm (14”) round cake pan with olive oil. Melt the butter together with the ¼ cup olive oil in a small saucepan.

Separate one phyllo sheet and put it on a flat surface. Cover the remaining pastry sheets with a damp kitchen towel to prevent them from drying out. Lightly brush the surface of the phyllo sheet with the butter/oil mixture. Sprinkle all over 1 tablespoon chopped pistachios. Scrunch the phyllo sheet with your fingers to create plaids like an accordion. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect or if the phyllo breaks in places. Twist the folded phyllo to create a spiral Place in the centre of the prepared baking pan.

Continue with the remaining phyllo sheets, placing them around the middle spiral until you fill up the pan. Place pan in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes until pale golden. Take pan out of the oven and increase temperature to 175 C.

Prepare the filling while phyllo bakes. Beat eggs and sugar in the bowl of a mixer until light and fluffy. Add orange juice, orange zest, olive oil, yogurt, vanilla and salt. Beat until combined. Add baking powder and beat lightly to mix.

Pour filling slowly over phyllo in pan making sure that all sheets are covered. Tap and shake pan lightly to help distribute the custard evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes until custard is set and pie is golden.

Remove pan from the oven. Using a large spoon, ladle the cold syrup all over the pie. It might look like it’s a lot but it’s not. The phyllo will absorb it like a sponge. Let the pie stand for a few minutes until no pools of syrup remain and the pie is left with just a beautiful shine. Sprinkle liberally with chopped pistachios. Cool completely before slicing and serving. It’s divine served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

{Printable}

Rose Phyllo Pie with Orange-Vanilla Custard

For the Syrup:

• 1 ½ cups water
• 1 ½ cups orange juice
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick

For the phyllo pastry:

• 450 grams phyllo pastry
• ¼ cup butter
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 cup unsalted pistachios, roughly chopped in a small blander

For the yogurt custard

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 packed Tbs Orange zest (you will need about 5 medium-large oranges)
• ½ cup orange juice
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1 cup and 2 Tbs (300 grams) Greek yogurt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder

Method:

First make the syrup by mixing all ingredients together in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to medium and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Let syrup cool completely. Transfer to the fridge until needed.

Prepare the phyllo pastry: Preheat oven to 160 C. Brush the base and sides of a 35cm (14”) round cake pan with olive oil. Melt the butter together with the ¼ cup olive oil in a small saucepan.

Separate one phyllo sheet and put it on a flat surface. Cover the remaining pastry sheets with a damp kitchen towel to prevent them from drying out. Lightly brush the surface of the phyllo sheet with the butter/oil mixture. Sprinkle all over 1 tablespoon chopped pistachios. Scrunch the phyllo sheet with your fingers to create plaids like an accordion. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect or if the phyllo breaks in places. Twist the folded phyllo to create a spiral Place in the centre of the prepared baking pan.

Continue with the remaining phyllo sheets, placing them around the middle spiral until you fill up the pan. Place pan in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes until pale golden. Take pan out of the oven and increase temperature to 175 C.

Prepare the filling while phyllo bakes. Beat eggs and sugar in the bowl of a mixer until light and fluffy. Add orange juice, orange zest, olive oil, yogurt, vanilla and salt. Beat until combined. Add baking powder and beat lightly to mix.

Pour filling slowly over phyllo in pan making sure that all sheets are covered. Tap and shake pan lightly to help distribute the custard evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes until custard is set and pie is golden.

Remove pan from the oven. Using a large spoon, ladle the cold syrup all over the pie. It might look like it’s a lot but it’s not. The phyllo will absorb it like a sponge. Let the pie stand for a few minutes until no pools of syrup remain and the pie is left with just a beautiful shine. Sprinkle liberally with chopped pistachios. Cool completely before slicing and serving. It’s divine served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.