Baklava, Sultans’ Sweet Choice

Baklava was the choice sweet of Sultans and their harems in the Ottoman Empire for its aphrodisiac properties. If it’s good enough for the sultans in Topkapi Palace, then this is good enough for me.

There’s as many versions of baklava as there are cooks and each claim to be the very best. Baklava consists of layers upon layers of delicate crispy phyllo ( also know as fillo) pastry, alternated with nuts and the whole thing soaked in delectable syrup. I visited Turkey back when travel was possible and I had the most amazing time sampling all the different versions of this sweet confection. Istikal Street and Taksim Square in Beyoglu district Istanbul is chock full of sweet shops, I could have spent a whole week there if I could. I now know, how Augustus Gloop must have felt in the Chocolate Factory. The baklava version I loved the best was filled with combination almond and pistachios doused with cardamom honey flavoured syrup.

You will need…

It is quite simple to make, and hard to muck up as long as you remember to handle the Phyllo pastry gently. For such a lovely scrumptious deliciousness, it has surprisingly very few ingredients and everything (except the pastry) will probably be already in your pantry. And no matter what nuts you decide to use, make sure they are fresh.

• Nuts -Use one or a combination of your favourite like walnuts and peanuts. I like almonds and pistachios together. I have even made this with almonds and pili nuts. Pili, a Philippine native nut which taste like butter and is very nutritious.
• Phyllo/Fillo Pastry- These are usually found in the freezer section. Thaw pastry overnight in the fridge before using or it will be impossible to handle
• Butter – Clarifying the butter is essential here, to make the pastry bake evenly. It also makes the baklava taste better and last longer.
• Sugar Syrup – Optional add ons: rose water, honey and lemon, liqueur like Kahlua or Frangelico

Easy does it…

• Process the nuts with a tablespoon of caster sugar in pulse setting, so you end up with small uniform pieces. Use one or combination of your favourite toasted nuts: walnuts, pistachios, almonds ,peanuts.
• Unroll the phyllo pastry carefully. Cover with a slightly damp tea towel to prevent the pastry from drying up. You need a total 28 pastry layers. Twelve for the bottom layer, 3 x 2 layers, and 10 layers for the top. It is easy to get distracted and lost count of how many layers you’ve done. What I do is, I insert strips of baking paper, in the stack of phyllo to mark when the next layer starts.
• This recipe is for a 22cm(8.5 in) diameter round tin or 13 x 9 inch (36×23 cm) rectangular baking tin. Save off- cut pastry for making other phyllo pies.
• The pastry layers should fit the baking tin snugly. If making in a round tin, like in the photo, lay the pan on top of pastry and use a kitchen scissors to cut the circle of pastry the exact size and shape of the bottom of the tin. If making in a rectangular baking tin , use the base of the tin as the template and use a sharp knife to trim the pastry, as pastry sizes vary from brand to brand, you might need to join pieces of pastry together with a slight overlap. Use this pieces for the middle layer and use the perfect ones for the top.
• Make the clarified butter on very low heat in a small sauce pan until milk solids have settled on the bottom. Carefully pour the clarified butter into a bowl and discard the milky liquid. Re heat the butter if it starts to get gluggy when you’re doing the layers.
• For the sugar syrup you can use any favourite flavour you like. You can go the traditional Middle Eastern way with orange blossom, cinnamon and cardamom, or liquor like Kalua and Frangelico. Only add a teaspoon or so. You don’t want to overwhelm the flavour of the nuts. I personally like cardamom infused syrup.
• Decorate with dried rose petals and slivered pistachios, which are both available from Middle Eastern shops.

Baklava, Sweet Choice of Sultans

Recipe by Lola Adele

0.0 from 0 votes

Course: Desserts/Sweets, Holidays

Servings

24-30

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Baklava with Cardamom Honey Syrup

Ingredients

• 2 packets Phyllo Pastry

• 250g unsalted Butter

• Sugar Syrup

• 1 1/4 cups sugar

• 3/4 cup water

• 3 tablespoons honey

• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom

• Lemon zest strips of half a lemon

• Nut Filling

• 1 3/4 cup almonds

• 1 cup pistachio

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• 1 teaspoon cardamom

• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

• Preheat oven to 160°C. Generously spray pan with cooking oil and set aside.
• Sugar Syrup
• Place all ingredients for syrup in a small saucepan and cook on medium while occasionally stirring.
• Bring to a boil, until sugar dissolves. Transfer syrup to a small jug with a spout for easier pouring. Set aside to cool.
• Clarified Butter
• Place butter in a small saucepan on low heat until the milk solids have collected at the bottom. Remove from heat and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
• If it’s foamy on top, skim the foam off with a spoon and discard foam. Carefully pour the clear butterfat into a small bowl leaving the milk solids behind. Set aside.
• Nut Filling
  
• Tip almonds into food processor. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar and pulse until finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl.
• Process pistachios the same way and add this to the almonds in step 1. Mix to combine.
• Add ground cinnamon and cardamom and toss to combine. Divide nut filling into 3, to make the 3 layers.
  
• Baklava Assembly
• Brush baking tin with butter right up to the sides.
• Lay one sheet of phyllo into the pan. Use a pastry brush to brush with butter. Repeat until you’ve used up 12 sheets of phyllo, brushing each sheet with butter.
• Sprinkle one portion of the nut filling over the phyllo layer.
• Lay 3 sheets of phyllo/butter on top of the first nut layer. Sprinkle one portion of the nut filling.
• Lay another 3 layer of phyllo/butter on top. Sprinkle the remaining nut filling evenly on top.
• Lay the final 10 sheets of phyllo/butter on top. Starting from one side , if using a rectangle tin, carefully press with the palm of your hands to remove any air pockets. If using a round tin, start from the centre going outwards. Brush with butter.
• Use a small sharp knife with pointed tip to cut the baklava into diamonds. If using a round tin, follow the pattern in the photo. Use a ruler as a guide for straight lines.
• Bake for 45 minutes. Rotate the pan and bake for another 15 minutes or until golden and crispy.
• Remove from oven. Drizzle prepared syrup evenly over baklava . It will sizzle when it hits the hot baklava.
• Garnish each diamond with pistachio slivers and rose petals if desired.
• Cool in the pan. When cool, cover with foil and let, stand overnight.

Notes

• Keeps for a week covered in room temperature