A syrupy, creamy desert. Only eat if you have run a marathon before. Orange, chocolate or lemon versions are possible.

Ingredients

* 0.5 Kg fillo pastry

Cream

* 1 cup simigdali 
* 1.5 cup sugar
* 700 ml full-fat milk
* 300 ml double cream
* 4 eggs
* 3 Tbsp butter
* 2 vanilla
* Grated lemon
* 500 gr butter to coat the fillo

Syrup

* 700 gr sugar
* 400 gr water
* 2 Tbsp honey
* 1 lemon

Preparation

Simigdali is wheat-based, something like thin ground couscous or fine semolina.

Start with the syrup. Juice the lemon. Place all ingredients in a pot, including the lemon skin. bring to boil and keep boiling for 4 min. Then remove from heat.

Melt butter and use a paintbrush to butter an oven tray.

Place 5 fillo sheets in the bottom and butter each, including the sides.

In a pot add milk, cream, simigdali, sugar, vanilla, greated lemon skin and keep on low heat stirring occasionally.

Separate the egg whites from the yolk. Make marenge with the whites.

Smash the yolks on their own and combine with the marenge gently.

Combine the eggs with the pot of the rest of the cream ingredients.

Add 3 Tbsp butter and keep stirring until the cream thickens and turns silky. Remove from heat.

Add the cream in the oven tray and even it out.

Add the remaining filo pastry one by one, buttering each layer.

Carve the top pastry into pieces, without touching the cream.

Can add more butter and sprinkle water at the top.

Bake at 180oC for 1 hr, until the top darkens.

Once out of the oven, while still hot, slowly add the syrup which is room temperature by now. This is the time you find out whether your tray is deep enough. If you have too much syrup, save it to add later.

Leave to cool down completely without covering. Only then can you cut pieces.