This dramatically ruffled pie, inspired by Greek bougatsa custard pie with phyllo, needs neither traditional pie dough nor a pie plate to impress. Thin sheets of easily available phyllo pastry are draped in a skillet, forming a crisp top-and-bottom crust when baked. Don’t worry if the sheets tear a bit as you work with them—it’s hard to tell once the pie is fully assembled. Drizzling the phyllo sheets with butter, rather than brushing, is the secret to airy, crunchy pastry.
This is really best eaten within a few hours of being baked while the pastry is still crackly-crisp, in fine contrast to the velvety heft of the filling.
What you’ll need
Cast Iron Skillet
$35 At Amazon
Small Offset Spatula
$7 At Amazon
Dutch Oven
$90 At Amazon
Silicone Spatula
$13 At Amazon
Recipe information
Yield
8–12 servings
Ingredients
Custard
Phyllo and assembly
Preparation
Custard
Step 1
Vigorously whisk 2 large eggs, 1 large egg yolk, ½ cup (60 g) cornstarch, and ½ cup whole milk in a small bowl to combine. Mix zest of 1 large orange, 1½ cups heavy cream, ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar, 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, ½ tsp. ground cinnamon, and remaining 1 cup whole milk in a small Dutch oven or large saucepan and heat over medium until steaming, about 5 minutes. Pour in egg mixture, scraping bowl with a rubber spatula to get every last bit, and cook, whisking constantly and making sure to get into corners of pot, until thickened with a few small bubbles breaking on surface, 6–8 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract. Let custard cool, whisking occasionally.
Phyllo and assembly
Step 2
While the custard is cooling, place a rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 350°. Melt ½ cup ghee or unsalted butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Mix 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar, 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, and ¼ tsp. Diamond Crystal or Morton kosher salt in a small bowl.
Step 3
Arrange 1 sheet fresh phyllo pastry or frozen, thawed, on a surface and drizzle (don’t brush!) about 1 Tbsp. ghee over (ghee will pool in some spots, leaving some areas of pastry dry, but don’t worry, this is what will make it light and crunchy when baked). Transfer, ghee side up, to a 9"-diameter cast-iron or other heavy ovenproof skillet, arranging so about 2" of 1 side of sheet hangs over the edges of pan. Repeat with 5 more sheets phyllo pastry, working your way around pan and overlapping slightly, until inside of pan is completely covered and you have overhang all around the pan.
Step 4
Scrape custard into pan (it’s okay if it’s still warm) and smooth surface with an offset spatula. Butter another 1 sheet phyllo pastry, scrunch up to crinkle, and lay over half of custard. Tuck in ends of pastry around custard. Repeat with 1 final sheet of phyllo pastry, arranging to cover the other half of custard.
Step 5
Gently fold phyllo overhang up and over crinkled phyllo on top of filling, arranging so there are plenty of waves and folds. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over. If there is any melted ghee remaining, pour around edges of pan. Bake pie until phyllo is deep golden brown, 50–65 minutes. Let cool, about 1 hour.
Step 6
Just before serving, dust pie lightly with powdered sugar if desired.
