My father’s favorite Bougatsa Recipe is the Cretan version. While it is most often enjoyed by our family as dessert, it can be served for breakfast as well.
Bougatsa recipes will vary throughout Greece. They are created with a variety and combination of local cheeses, milk, eggs, semolina and butter. Each of these recipes are tasty in their own right, but none will ever come close to the Cretan Bougatsa for our family.
The very best place to find Bougatsa in Crete is in the city of Chania at a small shop call Bougatsa IORDANIS. They serve it to you freshly baked and the phyllo dough is even made from scratch! It is truly a magical food experience!
Now, we live in the United States so having this authentic Cretan dessert was not something we could experience on a regular basis. This was disappointing to say the least. That is, until my cousin Voula (One of THE most amazing cooks in our family!) wanted to recreate this for my father’s birthday one year. She recreated the Cretan Bougatsa with ingredients she was able to easily find in our local supermarket. Watching my father take his first bite of the Bougatsa brought tears to my eyes as he was magically transported back to his childhood. It was the best gift she could have given him and the rest of our family.
We hope you enjoy this family recipe as much as we do!
Kali Orexi!
HOW TO MAKE THIS BOUGATSA RECIPE
- We love using phyllo sheets from the Fillo Factory because they fit perfectly on our 12×17 baking sheets which saves time when assembling our Bougatsa. THAWING DIRECTIONS: Place frozen phyllo in the refrigerator for 7-8 hours or overnight to thaw. Allow unopened phyllo package to stand at room temperature for about 2 hours before using. Do not open the phyllo dough package until ready to use.
- Prepare and measure ingredients for Bougatsa filling. Allow cream cheese, goat cheese and ricotta cheese to sit on the counter and soften for 30-60 minutes before beginning to prepare the Bougatsa.
- Combine, softened cream cheese, goat cheese and ricotta cheese until you get a smooth mixture (see second picture below) and set aside. Add milk to a small sauce pan with cornstarch and whisk continuously over medium heat until the milk thickens into a pasty substance (see third picture below). Add the milk and cornstarch mixture to the cheese mixture and combine well. Set aside.
- Melt butter in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments, stir and repeat until the butter is completely melted. Brush the bottom of a 12×17 baking sheet with melted butter.
- When you are ready to begin assembling the Bougatsa, open the package of phyllo dough sheets and lay them on a clean flat surface. Cover with a layer of plastic wrap and then a damp towel on top of the plastic wrap to keep phyllo dough sheets from getting moist and sticking together. As you lift the damp towel and plastic wrap to remove each sheet of phyllo, be sure to recover the remaining phyllo dough sheets so that they don’t dry out.
- The first 4 layers of phyllo dough will be placed to layer over the side of the pan. This is done so that you can fold them over after the cheese is spread to hold in the contents within the phyllo. Begin with the first 2 sheets of phyllo lengthwise and slightly overlap (as shown in the picture below). Brush butter over the phyllo sheets and then repeat with 2 more sheets of phyllo widthwise, overlapping (as shown in the third picture below) and brush with butter. Layer 4 more sheets of phyllo into the pan without overlapping and butter in between.
- Spread cheese mixture evenly over buttered phyllo sheets.
- Layer 8 phyllo sheets on top of cheese mixture, buttering each phyllo sheet in between.
- Fold over the phyllo sheets that are laying over the outside of the baking sheet and brush with butter. Continue by layering 7-8 more phyllo sheets. Butter in between each layer. Be sure to brush butter well over the top layer before placing in the oven.
- Place on middle rack in a 350° F oven for 30-35 minutes.
- Remove from oven once the phyllo dough is golden brown and allow the Bougatsa to rest for 15 minutes before serving. Cut into 12 sections and sprinkle with granulated sugar when serving.
Bougatsa
Servings 12 servings
Calories 572kcal
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese left out for one hour to soften
- 8 oz goat cheese left out for one hour to soften
- 15 oz ricotta cheese
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 lb unsalted butter
- 1 lb filo dough sheets we use FILLO FACTORY 12×17 sheets
- granulated sugar to sprinkle on top for serving
Instructions
- We love using phyllo sheets from the Fillo Factory because they fit perfectly on our 12×17 baking sheets which saves time when assembling our Bougatsa. THAWING DIRECTIONS: Place frozen phyllo in the refrigerator for 7-8 hours or overnight to thaw. Allow unopened phyllo package to stand at room temperature for about 2 hours before using. Do not open the phyllo dough package until ready to use.
- Prepare and measure ingredients for Bougatsa filling. Allow cream cheese, goat cheese and ricotta cheese to sit on the counter and soften for 30-60 minutes before beginning to prepare the Bougatsa.
- Combine, softened cream cheese, goat cheese and ricotta cheese until you get a smooth mixture. Set aside. Add milk to a small sauce pan with cornstarch and whisk continuously over medium heat until the milk thickens into a pasty substance. Add the milk and cornstarch mixture to the cheese mixture and combine well. Set aside.
- Melt butter in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments, stir and repeat until the butter is completely melted. Brush the bottom of a 12×17 baking sheet with melted butter.
- When you are ready to begin assembling the Bougatsa, open the package of phyllo dough sheets and lay them on a clean flat surface. Cover with a layer of plastic wrap and then a damp towel on top of the plastic wrap to keep phyllo dough sheets from getting moist and sticking together. As you lift the damp towel and plastic wrap to remove each sheet of phyllo, be sure to recover the remaining phyllo dough sheets so that they don't dry out.
- The first 4 layers of phyllo dough will be placed to layer over the side of the pan. This is done so that you can fold them over after the cheese is spread to hold in the contents within the phyllo. Begin with the first 2 sheets of phyllo lengthwise and slightly overlap (as shown in the picture below), brush butter over the phyllo sheets and then repeat with 2 more sheets of phyllo widthwise, overlapping (as shown in the third picture below) and brush with butter. Layer 4 more sheets of phyllo into the pan without overlapping and butter in between.
- Spread cheese mixture evenly over buttered phyllo sheets.
- Fold over the phyllo sheets that are laying over the outside of the baking sheet and brush with butter. Continue by layering 7-8 more phyllo sheets, buttering in between each layer. Be sure to brush butter well over the top layer before placing in the oven.
- Place on middle rack in a 350° F oven for 30-35 minutes.
- Remove from oven once the phyllo dough is golden brown and allow the Bougatsa to rest for 15 minutes before serving. Cut into 12 sections and sprinkle with granulated sugar when serving.
Nutrition
Calories: 572kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 48g | Saturated Fat: 30g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 130mg | Sodium: 351mg | Potassium: 119mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1568IU | Calcium: 143mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition Facts
Bougatsa
Amount Per Serving
Calories 572
Calories from Fat 432
% Daily Value*
Fat 48g74%
Saturated Fat 30g188%
Trans Fat 1g
Cholesterol 130mg43%
Sodium 351mg15%
Potassium 119mg3%
Carbohydrates 23g8%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 12g24%
Vitamin A 1568IU31%
Calcium 143mg14%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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