How about the Campodonico Family’s Ruffled Milk Pie as a decadent dessert this winter? Read more recipes from the Wildwood Family Cookbook here. Bon Appetit!
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The Campodinico Family’s Ruffled Milk Pie
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 8 slices 1x
Description
How about the Campodonico Family’s Ruffled Milk Pie as a decadent dessert this winter? Read more recipes from…
Ingredients
- 6 tbsp (85 g) Clarified Butter, melted
- 12-14 sheets store-bought phyllo dough (make sure to defrost if frozen)
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon, plus more for dusting
- 3 cups (720 ml) WHOLE milk
- 6 large eggs
- 1 generous cup (200 g) superfine sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Confectioners' (powdered) sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.
- Brush 14” round cake pan with some clarified butter and set aside.
- Place 1 sheet of phyllo dough on a work surface with one long side parallel to the edge of work space. Using your hands, loosely ruffle the phyllo – imagine you are scrunching it up like a long accordion.
- Place upright in the center of the prepared round cake pan, creating your first inner ring of a spiral. Repeat the process with remaining sheets, continuing to spiral outward until bottom of pan is covered.
- Using a pastry brush, brush remaining clarified butter on top of all of the spiraled, ruffled phyllo dough. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
- Transfer to oven and bake until golden, 25-30 min. Then REMOVE from oven.
- In the meantime, heat the milk and remove from heat before it boils.
- Whisk together eggs and sugar and gradually add in the heated milk, a bit at a time. Keep whisking.
- Whisk in vanilla. Spoon over the baked phyllo, cover evenly.
- Return pan to bake and let filling set 25-30 minutes more.
- Dust with confectioners’ sugar and cinnamon and serve!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Greek
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 380
Frequently Asked Questions
What is ruffled milk pie, and what gives it its distinctive look?
Ruffled milk pie is a Greek dessert (galaktoboureko-style) made from 12–14 sheets of phyllo dough that are individually scrunched into long accordion-like folds and then spiraled upright in a round cake pan before baking. The ruffled edges create a dramatic flower-like top that’s brushed with clarified butter and dusted with cinnamon and powdered sugar after a custard filling (3 cups whole milk, 6 eggs, 1 cup superfine sugar, 1 tsp vanilla) is poured over and set in the oven.
Why does the phyllo need to bake twice — once before the filling is added?
The recipe first bakes the ruffled phyllo for 25–30 minutes until golden, then removes it from the oven to add the custard. Pre-baking sets the ruffled structure and crisps the dough so it doesn’t turn soggy when the liquid custard is poured over; the pie then returns to the oven for another 25–30 minutes to set the filling.
Why does the recipe call for clarified butter rather than regular butter?
Clarified butter has had its milk solids and water removed, which means it brushes onto phyllo without adding moisture that could make the layers steam and stick rather than crisp. It also has a higher smoke point, so it doesn’t burn during the 25–30 minute first bake at 350°F.
