Bastilla au Lait

بسطيلة بالحليب

“Casablanca's showpiece — crispy pastry, almond cream, cinnamon art.”

Prep 30 min + 2h chill · Cook 20 min · Serves 8 · Difficulty Medium · Origin: Casablanca, Morocco (modern)

Bastilla au Lait is the modern, sweet evolution of the savoury bastilla — a dessert that emerged in Casablanca's upscale restaurants in the late 20th century. Layers of crisp warqa pastry are interspersed with a cold, thick almond and orange blossom cream (crème pâtissière Marocaine), chilled until set, then unmoulded and decorated with cinnamon latticework and icing sugar. It is spectacular to look at and extraordinary to eat — the contrast of shatteringly crisp pastry and cold fragrant cream is unforgettable.

Ingredients · Serves 8

• warqa or filo pastry8 sheets
• butter, melted60 g
• whole milk500 ml
• egg yolks4
• sugar80 g
• cornflour40 g
• ground almonds100 g
• orange blossom water2 tbsp
• ground cinnamon1 tsp
• for decorationicing sugar and ground cinnamon

The Recipe

1. 1.Make the cream: whisk egg yolks with sugar and cornflour. Heat milk to a simmer, pour over the egg mixture whisking constantly, then return to the pan and stir over medium heat until very thick. Stir in ground almonds, orange blossom water and cinnamon. Cool completely.
2. 2.Brush warqa/filo sheets with melted butter. Layer 4 sheets in a round dish, overlapping. Bake at 190°C for 8 minutes until crisp and golden. Repeat with remaining 4 sheets to make two crisp layers.
3. 3.Place one crisp pastry layer in the bottom of a springform tin.
4. 4.Pour the cold almond cream over it, smoothing the surface. Top with the second pastry layer, pressing gently.
5. 5.Refrigerate for at least 2 hours until completely set.
6. 6.Unmould, dust with icing sugar, and draw cinnamon lines in a decorative lattice. Serve cold.

Chef's Tips

• The cream must be completely cold before assembling — warm cream will soften the pastry.
• Cut with a very sharp knife in one firm press — sawing will shatter the pastry layers.