Individual Bougatsa pies with mastic-flavoured cream - Elegant twist to a classic dessert!

Those who follow this blog or have visited it many times will probably remember what Bougatsa is and the importance of it in the Greek traditional cuisine. Here today this luscious pastry pie becomes even more interesting and tasty thanks to the subtle but distinctive presence of mastic. A nice dessert idea which can be served all year round to please your guests

Recipe of Yiorgos Venieris,

from the Greek food magazine "Umami"

Ingredients (for 6-8 people):

2 sheets of puff pastry

500 ml of fresh milk

110 gr. of granulated sugar

85 gr. of butter

85 gr. of corn flour (corn starch)

6 eggs

10 gr. of mastic drops, ground in a mortar with a pinch of sugar
1 egg yolk, beaten with a tbsp of water 

Method:
Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan function. Lay a piece of waxed paper in a spacious oven tray.

Put in a saucepan the milk, half the sugar, the ground mastic and the butter and boil on medium-low heat until the sugar is dissolved and the butter melted.

In a large bowl beat thoroughly with a hand mixer the eggs, the cornflour and the rest of the sugar until they are well blended. Slowly add the egg mixture into the saucepan with the milk, while stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon on low heat, until the cream is thickened.

Put a piece of cling film directly on the cream and transfer the saucepan in the fridge until the cream is cooled down.

In the meantime, cut the pastry into discs of about 8cm diameter.

Take the saucepan out of the fridge and put on the centre of each disc one heaped tablespoon of the cream. Cover with another pastry disc, brush on top with some of the beaten egg and press all around to stick the edges together.

Carefully transfer the pies on the oven tray and put on the middle shelf of the oven.

Cook for about 10-12 minutes until the Bougatsas are nicely golden and raised.

Take out of the oven, allow the pies to rest for a couple of minutes and serve while they are still hot along with vanilla or mahleb-flavoured ice cream.