The best Bulgarian Tikvenik

Ingredients

Pumpkin flesh – 1kg

White sugar – 200g plus extra for sprinkling

Phyllo dough – 500g or 4 sheets

Sunflower oil – 200g

Cinnamon – 3g

White sugar for syrup – 150g

Water for syrup – 150g

Procedure

Heat up 150g of the oil in large pan over medium heat. Pre-heat oven at 180oC
Grate the pumpkin flesh and it to the oil along with the sugar, walnuts and cinnamon
Mix well and cook until the pumpkin has softened
Roll out your phyllo dough sheets and cut them in half widthwise. Divide your filling evenly into 8.
Brush your sheets with the remaining oil and spread the already portioned amount of filling on each, leaving a little space at each end to account for displacement when rolling them up.
Roll your sheets up and place them in a rectangular baking dish
In a small pot, combine the water and sugar set aside for the syrup. Heat on medium until the sugar has dissolved an the syrup has slightly thickened.
Pour all of your syrup over your rolled up sheets, sprinkle additional sugar overtop and bake for 40-45 minutes.
Allow to cool completely before taking the finished pastry out of the pan