Zesty lemon bougatsa

Makes 9-12 SLICES Desserts and puddings

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Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/ Gas 4. Place the cream, milk and 125g sugar in a saucepan and gently bring to the boil. Pour in the semolina in a steady stream and cook, stirring, over a low heat until it thickens and starts to bubble. Remove from the heat and leave for 10 minutes.

Peel the rind of the 4 lemons into broad strips and reserve for the syrup, then squeeze them to get 150ml juice. Add this juice to the semolina mixture, followed by the beaten eggs, and mix well.

Brush the tin with a little melted butter, then layer up 4 sheets of filo, brushing melted butter between each one, and leaving an overhang. Pour in the lemon filling and cover with the overhanging pastry. Put aside 2 sheets of the pastry, and use the remainder to layer on top of the filling, again brushing each layer with melted butter. Score the top into the number of squares you want and cut the 2 reserved pieces of filo to ruffle onto the top of each square. Brush liberally with the rest of the melted butter and bake for 40 minutes until golden and crisp. Sit the tin on a wire rack for 40 minutes to cool.

Meanwhile, make the syrup. Place the 100g sugar and juice of 2 lemons in a saucepan over a low heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, then once thickened add the strips of reserved lemon rind and remove from the heat. Set aside to candy. When ready to eat, cut the bougatsa along the scores, spoon over the syrup and add candied peel to the top of each square.