Galatopita: Mani’s Traditional Milk Pie Recipe

Greece Is | February 20th, 2026

Greece IsIn DepthGASTRONOMY

A traditional recipe for galatopita, or milk pie, from Mani, where it’s known as galakopita. This tasty sweet is made with a thick pastry base and a rich semolina custard.

Chef: Stavriani Zervakakou

Preparation & Cooking time: Prep time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 1 hour 10 minutes Resting time: 1 hour in total

Serves: 12

Galakopita is one of two classic sweets from the area known as Inner, or Mesa, Mani in the Peloponnese; the other is koutalides, or spoon-sized pancakes. Traditionally, Galakopita was made mainly on Holy Saturday, and baked in a wood-fired oven until the dough turned crisp and the surface formed a golden crust. It had only one thick sheet of dough underneath that cradled the semolina cream like a rustic galette. Then, as now, the most important ingredient was, of course, high-quality milk. Chef Stavriani Zervakakou, who shared this recipe with us, prefers using freshly expressed goat’s milk, but that is rarely available in the city. The best alternative is commercial water buffalo milk, because it gives more character and a richer aroma; however, if you can’t find that either, you can make this dessert with any milk you choose.

Method

Pastry

For the Mani galakopita pastry, combine the flour, salt, lemon zest and sugar in a bowl. Add the olive oil and gradually pour in about 250-300 ml water (you may need slightly more or less), kneading for 3-4 minutes until a smooth dough forms that doesn’t stick to your fingers.

Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rest for about 30 minutes.

Custard

Beat the sugar and eggs together with a whisk or mixer until light and fluffy.

In a saucepan, heat the milk and semolina over medium heat, stirring for about 7-8 minutes until the custard thickens slightly.

Remove from the heat. Using a ladle, add 2-3 portions of the hot custard to the egg mixture, whisking constantly until fully incorporated and the egg mixture is well warmed (as when tempering eggs for avgolemono).

Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining custard, add the zest and salt, and stir.

Let the custard cool slightly.

Mani Galakopita

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and lightly oil the baking pan.

Lightly flour a work surface. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin into a round sheet about 30 cm in diameter and approximately 3 mm thick, then lay it in the pan, covering the base and sides.

Pour in the custard and spread it evenly.

Fold the overhanging edges of the pastry inward and bake for about 50-60 minutes, until the pastry is cooked and the custard turns golden on top.

Remove from the oven, let cool for 30 minutes, sprinkle with cinnamon and serve.

Originally published in Greek at gastronomos.gr.