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Prep Time: 0 Minutes Cook Time: 0 Minutes |
Ready In: 0 Minutes Servings: 32 |
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My mom used to love baklava, and this is her recipe, although I added nutmeg, and substituted the almonds with pecans and walnuts. I learnt about pecans recently and have been using them often since then and they have become a killer combination in the flaky, sticky pastry. Ingredients:
1 packet of thin phyllo dough (500 grams) |
1/2 cup of sugar |
1 teaspoon cinnamon |
1 teaspoon of nutmeg |
150 grams of roasted pecans |
75 grams of roasted walnuts |
8 spoonfuls of sweet cream butter |
for the syrup |
1/2 cup of thyme honey |
3/4 cup of sugar |
11/2 cup of water |
1 cinnamon stick |
10 cloves |
3 spoonfuls of lemon juice |
Directions:
1. Combine sugar, honey, water, cinnamon stick, and cloves in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add lemon juice, stir and set aside.
2. Begin with pastry but as soon as baklava is in the oven make the syrup, so until it is baked it will still remain lukewarm.
3. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Centigrade, melt butter and grease a baking tin 33 x 40 cm.
4. Combine nuts, spices and sugar.
5. Layer 6 sheets of phyllo pastry in the baking tin, brushing in between each layer with butter.
6. Sprinkle with the nut mixture and repeat four times, each time brushing phyllo with butter.
7. Top with the remaining phyllo sheets, brushing each phyllo with butter but do not butter the last one.
8. With a very sharp knife cut pastry but not all the way through beginning with a cross, making 4 squares. Each square, cut diagonally making an X and again cut into a cross shape. In each quarter you will get 8 pieces.
9. Bake for 45 minutes, lower heat at 150 degrees and bake for 20 minutes.
10. When baklava is golden brown, remove from the oven and pour syrup spoon by spoon making sure that it has penetrated through all pieces. Allow to stand at room temperature until completely cooled and then cut it all the way through.
11. Do not store baklava in the refrigerator as the phyllo will loose its crunchiness and will become soggy. It’s better to leave it in the baking tin, if it’s stainless steel or remove to another vessel and cover with a napkin.
12. You may read more about baklavas here:
13. /2008/07/greek-baklavas.html
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