Egyptian Bread and Butter Pudding (Umm Ali)

Ingredients

6 sheets of fillo (or puff pastry, pancakes, or bread/roqaq)
6-8 tablespoons of butter, melted
2/3 cup black or golden raisins
1 cup mixed whole or slivered blanched almonds, chopped hazelnuts and chopped pistachios
5 cups whole milk (you could put cardamon pods or cinnamon sticks in the milk and take them out before baking)
1 ¼ cups heavy cream
½ - 2/3 cup Sugar
1-2 teaspoons cinnamon (optional)

Directions

Keep the sheets of filo in a pile, covered with a damp towel to keep them from drying out.
Brush each one with melted butter and place them on top of each other on a buttered baking sheet.
But the buttered fillo sheets in a preheated 178-180c oven for about 10 minutes, until they are crisp and the top ones are slightly colored.
When cool enough to handle, crush the pastry with your hands into pieces into a baking dish, sprinkling the nuts and Raisins between the layers.
Bring the milk and cream to a boil in a pan with the Sugar and pour over the pastry.
Sprinkle, if you like, with the cinnamon and return to the oven.
Raise the heat to 210-220c and bake for about 20-30 minutes, until slightly golden.
Serve hot.