One of the most understated and delicious desserts in the known world is Baklava. Don't let my travels fool you, I never once made it while I was in the Middle East though I did enjoy it of a few occasions. Minus the Turkish coffee and argeela smoke, Baklava, in all its glory, is easy to enjoy state side as well. The recipe I originally followed online no longer exists so I am going to take full credit for the creation of this particular recipe. I encourage you to read through the whole recipe before pursuing this undertaking.
A few notes before we dive. The most intimidating aspect of any Baklava recipe, other than the filo dough, is the fast array of spices that it requires. Being partly resourceful and partly cheap, I cut corners here and substituted the quintessential white girl spice: Pumpkin Pie spice is a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and autumn spices that your dessert will need. Another difference I take ownership of is the type of nuts I included. The most common nut used in Baklava is Pistachio but I substituted in Almonds and Walnuts. I also left out white sugar from the filling because I think it's sweet enough without it. Another note: you cannot have too much butter melted and ready to cover your filo sheets. I always end up melting extra butter near the end because I run out. Lastly, prep your filling beforehand. Once you start cooking you have to move quickly to make sure your dough does not dry out. If you notice your dough drying out, wet a paper towel to place on top of it. By "wet" I mean the towel should still feel relatively dry. If your towel is too wet the dough will stick to it.
What you'll need
9x13 baking dish
For syrup:
1 cup Honey
1 cup Water
1/2 cup Brown sugar
Zest of 1 Lemon
For Filling:
1 cup Almonds, chopped
1 cup Walnuts, chopped
3 Tbs Pumpkin Pie Spice
For Crust:
1 1/2 - 2 cups Butter, melted
1 roll Filo dough, thawed (1 box holds 2 rolls)
(missing from photo: butter)
Preheat your oven to 350 F. Chop up your nuts and mix in the spice so it's ready to go for later.
In a sauce pan, mix all your ingredients for the syrup over Medium heat. Bring to a boil for about 5 minutes then turn the heat down to medium-low for about another 5 minutes. You really want the a proper consistency to your syrup.
Set your syrup aside to cool. Melt the butter completely, use some of it to grease the bottom of your pan.
Unroll your filo dough delicately.
Carefully pull the top sheet of your dough off of the stack. This will take a steady hand but remember to move quickly. Lay the single sheet in the bottom of the pan and brush it with butter so it is saturated. Lay another sheet on top of it and do the same. There will be four sheets per layer.
In between the layers you'll sprinkle a 1/3 of your nut/spice mixture. Pattern: 4 sheets filo, 1/3 filling, 4 sheets filo, 1/3 filling and so on
Once you have used all your filling use the remainder of your filo dough to make the top crust.
Cut the raw dough into the size pieces you want to serve. This is very important because your syrup will need to go in between the pieces once your dish has finished baking
Bake at 350 F for approximately 40 minutes. After you pull the pan out of the oven immediately pour your syrup evenly over the dish. It may sizzle or spit a bit, don't be afraid.
Allow your dessert to sit covered overnight. There's no need to refrigerate. If you need it the same day let it sit for at least 5 hours.
It feels unfair to rate my own recipe so I'll let you try it out and let me know what you think or what you would change. Baklava is easier than it looks and is sure to impress. The only thing I ask is that you use your new found powers wisely.
See you later in the week for our next dinner date
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