Filo Pie with Pear, Three Cheeses and Spicy Honey
A crispy, creamy and very impressive appetiser with a restaurant flavour pairing. Thin filo sheets are folded accordion-style and bake up golden and shattery, with sweet pear slices, tender brie, creamy camembert and pungent blue cheese hidden between the folds. A cinnamon egg-cream custard binds it together, and spicy honey adds the final sweet-and-piquant accent.
Preparation
- 1
Thaw the filo ahead; while working keep unused sheets under a slightly damp towel.
- 2
Heat the oven to 180°C and grease a dish (≈22–24 cm) with butter or oil.
- 3
Wash the pear, core it and slice thinly; cut the brie and camembert into small pieces and crumble the blue cheese.
- 4
Lightly brush each filo sheet with butter and fold it accordion-style in long pleats without pressing too tightly; place the folds side by side in the dish.
- 5
Tuck pear slices, brie, camembert and blue cheese into the gaps between folds, evenly across the dish.
- 6
Make the custard: beat the egg with cream, add sweetener, cinnamon and optionally nutmeg; almost no salt needed.
- 7
Slowly pour the custard over the pastry, distributing it between the folds; leave the top edges exposed to brown.
- 8
Bake ~30–40 minutes until the pastry is golden and crisp, the custard is set and the cheese melts (if the top darkens fast, tent loosely with foil).
- 9
Take out the pie and let it sit in the dish for 5–7 minutes.
- 10
Drizzle the warm pie generously with thin lines of spicy honey, optionally sprinkle nuts or thyme and serve warm.
Chef's tips
- —Choose a firm ripe pear — too soft releases a lot of juice.
- —Don't leave the filo uncovered: it dries out and cracks fast (keep it under a damp towel).
- —Brush the sheets with a thin layer of butter for a golden crisp crust.
- —Don't fold the accordions too tightly — air should circulate between the layers.
- —Don't overdo the blue cheese so it doesn't overpower the pear and mild cheeses.
- —Add honey after the oven so it doesn't burn; serve warm.
