Banitza - Improved “Dupnishka” Recipe

All Bulgarian ladies know how to make good Banitza – layered egg and cheese cake with Fillo pastry – but this recipe is something special.  It has been gradually improved over the ten years that I have been living in San Diego, with tips and bits of advice from friends, their mothers, grandmothers, visiting relatives and a few telephone calls from Bulgaria.  The recipe has almost reached perfection! The last critical, essential, absolutely! necessary tip was added by a visiting aunt of one of my friends.  It comes from the region of Dupnica, hence the name “Improved Dupnishka Recipe”.  Many people have tried it and everyone agrees: it is absolutely delicious.  My 'coffee klatch' group helped me write down the recipe. Thank you, Michelle.

To make it a success, please follow the recipe in all the minute details.
Enjoy!

Ingredients:
5 eggs – Take them out of the fridge a few hours earlier, so that they are at room temperature.
               In a large bowl, beat the eggs well until frothy. Separate the mixture, approximately two eggs for the cheese filing, three eggs for the milk topping.

Frozen Fillo pastry - One 16 oz. box. I buy those from the Persian shop on Genesse. I buy the “Apollo Fillo” #4 Pastry sheets, but any other kind will do.  They are approx. 28 – 12”x17” Fillo sheets that keep in the freezer forever.  Defrost them in the box on the kitchen counter for a few hours.

Melted butter - ¾ stick.  Melt the butter in a small pan over the stove (do not microwave) until it sizzles and gets golden / brown crumbles. This gives the banitza a nice flavor.

Bulgarian Feta cheese - approximately ¾ pound or a little more.  Again, I buy it from the Persian store.  You can get it in a box, or over the counter, slightly cheaper and sometimes better quality.  Crumble the cheese well with a fork on a plate.

Plain yogurt - ¾ cup
Baking soda - ½ teaspoon
In a bigger bowl mix the yogurt with the baking soda. The soda will make it bubble and rise a bit.  Add the crumbled cheese.  Add the two beaten eggs.  This makes the cheese filling.

Grapeseed oil – ½ cup.  You can use light Canola oil instead, but NOT Olive Oil because it is too heavy.

Milk – 1 cup. Warm it up in the microwave, but be careful not to make it too hot, then add it to the remaining three beaten eggs.  This makes the milk topping. Prepare the milk topping at the end after your banitza is in the pan, cut in rectangles so that it is warm when you pour it over.