Traditional Albanian qumështor — a sweet pie with milk and eggs

Description: Qumështor, known in southern Albania also as përpeqi, is one of the best-loved desserts of traditional Albanian cuisine. Thin pastry sheets are filled with a rich cream of milk and eggs, baked until they take on a golden colour and served warm or cold — a taste that reminds you of home.

Ingredients (for 8–10 servings):

• 500 g ready-made pastry sheets for pie
• 1 litre of milk
• 5 eggs
• 200 g sugar
• 100 g melted butter (plus a little for greasing the baking pan)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• a little salt
• ground cinnamon for sprinkling on top (as desired)

Preparation:

1. Heat the oven to 180°C and grease a deep baking pan with melted butter.
2. Lay 2–3 pastry sheets at the bottom of the pan, greasing each one with butter in between.
3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar, salt and vanilla until the mixture lightens slightly.
4. Add the milk slowly, stirring continuously, until the cream becomes homogeneous.
5. Pour the cream over the pastry sheets in the pan and lay another 2–3 buttered sheets on top.
6. Sprinkle the surface with cinnamon as desired.
7. Bake for 35–40 minutes, until the surface takes on a golden colour and the cream has set.
8. Let it cool a little before cutting it into square pieces.

Preparation time: 20 minutes. Baking time: 35–40 minutes. Servings: 8–10.