Baklava - Tamara's
- Minutes to Prepare:
- Minutes to Cook:
- Number of Servings: 50
Ingredients
Main Ingredients1 pound shelled walnuts1/2 pound blanched almonds1/2 pound shelled pistachios2/3 cup brown sugar1 teaspoon ground cinnamon1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1 pound butter, melted 1 pound phyllo pastry sheetsOrange Scented Simple Syrup:1.5 cups sugar1.5 cups water1/2 cup orange blossom honey (or any honey you have available will do. The orange will come out with some of the following ingredients.)1/2 lemon, juicedwhole orange, juiced2 large strips orange peel 1 cinnamon stick3 whole cloves
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Finely chop the nuts in a food processor or coffee grinder.
Transfer nuts to a bowl and mix in brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and cloves.
Brush a 13 by 9-inch baking pan with melted butter and set aside. Unroll the phyllo dough and lay the sheets flat on a work surface. Keep the pastry covered with a damp, not wet, towel as you work to prevent drying out.
To build the baklava, you will alternate 3 layers of dough with 2 layers of nuts.
Start with a stable base of 8 sheets on the bottom, brushing each with melted butter. Spread 1/2 the nut mixture evenly over the stacked sheets. Cover with 4 sheets of phyllo, painting each with melted butter, then sprinkle again with remaining nut mixture. Top the last layer of nuts with 8 layers of phyllo as you did for the bottom. Drizzle any remaining butter over top.
This is very important and you will be very happy if you do this step!
Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or put out in a cold garage on top of the freezer etc - so the butter will set and make the baklava easier to cut. Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, make 5 cuts across lengthwise, then cut diagonally to form diamonds. Don't worry about being perfect when cutting these pieces as they look fantastic when displayed out of the pan or cutting everything the same direction.
Baklava is more difficult to cut after it is cooked because the pastry becomes so flaky.
Bake for about 40 minutes until golden and flaky. If the top browns too quickly during baking, tent with foil.
Syrup to pour over top:
To make the syrup: combine the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Allow to boil or simmer rapidly until reduced by half and the syrup starts to thicken.
Remove the orange peel, cinnamon stick, and whole clove; set aside to cool.
With the baked baklava still hot out of the oven and the pan flat, pour the syrup evenly over the hot baklava. Allow to stand for several hours before serving.
Number of Servings: 50
Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user TAMARASART.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Finely chop the nuts in a food processor or coffee grinder.
Transfer nuts to a bowl and mix in brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and cloves.
Brush a 13 by 9-inch baking pan with melted butter and set aside. Unroll the phyllo dough and lay the sheets flat on a work surface. Keep the pastry covered with a damp, not wet, towel as you work to prevent drying out.
To build the baklava, you will alternate 3 layers of dough with 2 layers of nuts.
Start with a stable base of 8 sheets on the bottom, brushing each with melted butter. Spread 1/2 the nut mixture evenly over the stacked sheets. Cover with 4 sheets of phyllo, painting each with melted butter, then sprinkle again with remaining nut mixture. Top the last layer of nuts with 8 layers of phyllo as you did for the bottom. Drizzle any remaining butter over top.
This is very important and you will be very happy if you do this step!
Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or put out in a cold garage on top of the freezer etc - so the butter will set and make the baklava easier to cut. Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, make 5 cuts across lengthwise, then cut diagonally to form diamonds. Don't worry about being perfect when cutting these pieces as they look fantastic when displayed out of the pan or cutting everything the same direction.
Baklava is more difficult to cut after it is cooked because the pastry becomes so flaky.
Bake for about 40 minutes until golden and flaky. If the top browns too quickly during baking, tent with foil.
Syrup to pour over top:
To make the syrup: combine the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Allow to boil or simmer rapidly until reduced by half and the syrup starts to thicken.
Remove the orange peel, cinnamon stick, and whole clove; set aside to cool.
With the baked baklava still hot out of the oven and the pan flat, pour the syrup evenly over the hot baklava. Allow to stand for several hours before serving.
Number of Servings: 50
Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user TAMARASART.
Nutritional Info Amount Per Serving
- Calories: 185.5
- Total Fat: 13.2 g
- Cholesterol: 19.5 mg
- Sodium: 97.0 mg
- Total Carbs: 16.2 g
- Dietary Fiber: 1.0 g
- Protein: 2.4 g