Skip to main content

Greek Custard Pie

By browneyedbaker · From Open Recipes · 13 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and 19,175 recipes mention both. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

The recipe

12 servings
Prep1 hr
Cook45 min

Ingredients

Contains: egg, milk, wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

Directions

Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.

  1. Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Brush a 9x13-inch pan with the 1 tablespoon butter. Melt the 1 cup butter and keep it warm for brushing the phyllo.

  2. Whisk the eggs with half of the ¾ cup sugar until smooth and pale. Set aside.

  3. Heat the milk, orange zest and remaining sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until steaming. Slowly whisk in the semolina and stir 5 minutes until thickened.

  4. Remove from heat and whisk in a spoonful of hot semolina mixture into the eggs, then stir the eggs back into the pot. Cook on low, stirring, 2 minutes until the custard reaches 160°F (71°C). Stir in the 1 teaspoon vanilla and remove the orange zest.

  5. Lay about half the phyllo sheets in the pan, brushing each with melted butter and trimming to fit. Spread the custard evenly over the top.

  6. Cover the custard with the remaining phyllo sheets, brushing each with butter. Score the top into squares and bake 35 to 40 minutes until deep golden.

  7. While the pie bakes, simmer the 1½ cups sugar and 1 cup water for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the orange juice and ½ teaspoon vanilla. Let cool slightly.

  8. Pour the warm syrup slowly over the hot pie, letting it soak in. Let rest at least 30 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.

By browneyedbaker. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Milk + vanillatop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together19,175 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Milk + buttertop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together81,222 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Sugar + vanillatop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlaplow
    Mentioned together35,031 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Vanilla + orangetop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together2,371 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Butter + vanillatop 7% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together19,983 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Sugar and vanilla share little aroma chemistry, yet 35,031 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Flavor stand-ins for the orange

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, semolina, sugar, butter, vanilla, egg, phyllo dough):

  1. Coconutbetter flavor fit
  2. Strawberrybetter flavor fit
  3. Applebetter flavor fit
  4. Orangethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against milk, semolina, sugar, butter, vanilla, egg, phyllo dough. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).