Preheat oven to 350 F

Thaw Phyllo Dough

• Remove the phyllo dough from the refrigerator. Carefully remove it from the box and unwrap it from the plastic. Lay it out flat on a piece of parchment paper on your kitchen counter. Let it rest there until it reaches room temperature.

Folding Phyllo Dough

• Line a baking sheet with sides with parchment paper.

  To fold the dough, take two sheets and hold them with your hands on the long side. Now, grab about an inch of the dough below your hands and gather it together in an accordion-like shape. Continue gathering until you reach the end of the dough.

  Gently place the crinkled dough on the baking sheet with the folds facing upwards.

  Repeat this step with the sheets of dough until the tray is full.

First Bake

• Bake for 10 minutes.

Melt Butter

• While the crinkle cake is baking, place the cup of butter in a small saucepan and melt.

  Once the cake is done, remove it from oven and pour the butter evenly over it.

Second Bake

• Bake for another 10 minutes.

Make Custard

• While the cake is baking, whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla extract in a medium size bowl.

  After baking the cake for the second time, remove it from the oven and evenly pour custard over it.

Third Bake

• Return the cake to the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Keep an eye on the cake to prevent burning on top. Remove the cake from the oven when it is brown and crispy on top.

Syrup

• Begin making the syrup on the last 30 minutes of baking.

  In a small saucepan, mix together water and sugar, and heat it until it just begins to boil. Then, lower the heat and let it simmer gently while you prepare the other ingredients.

  Keep an eye on the syrup; you’re aiming for a consistency that’s just a bit thicker than standard simple syrup. Once it reaches this point, turn off the heat, but leave the saucepan on the stove for later use.

  To check if it’s thick enough, try the thumb test: dab a bit of cooled syrup on your thumb and press it against your index finger. If it forms sticky strings when you separate your fingers, it’s at the perfect thickness and consistency.

Top with Syrup

• After removing the cake from the oven, pour the sugary syrup over it and let it cool before serving.