- Prep Time: 35 min.
- Cook Time: 50 min.
- Yield: 1 9″x13″ pan, 24-48 pieces.
What’s the most famous Greek dessert on the planet? Most people will say baklava. Those syrup-drenched, delicate layers of crisp pyhllo, stuffed with rich nuts, are too difficult to resist.
The most popular nut choices for baklava (bah-kla-VAH) are walnuts and pistachios. Some fans like to use almonds.
You can also make an almond-walnut mixture or a pistachio-almond combination. For a little Middle Eastern flair, you can try adding a pinch of ground cardamom to the ground nut mixture.
If you like this recipe, you may also enjoy galaktoboureko. It is similar to baklava, but with a delectable custard in the middle instead of nuts.
Caution: Phyllo dries very quickly when in contact with air. Once you unroll the dough, keep the wax paper in which it is wrapped. Between buttering the phyllo sheets, roll up the remaining phyllo and cover with a clean, damp kitchen towel.
Ingredients
- 1 pound phyllo dough, thawed according to package
- 1 pound chopped nuts, crushed in a mortar or food processor
- 2 cups of sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup butter, melted
- 1 cup of water
- 1 stick of cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup honey
- zest of 1 orange
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- In a large bowl, combine the crushed nuts, 1 cup of sugar, powdered cinnamon, and ground cardamon (if desired). Set aside.
- Using the melted butter, brush the bottom and sides of a 9″x13″ pyrex oven-proof dish.
- Place two phyllo sheets flat to cover the bottom of the dish. If the sheets are not long enough to cover the entire dish bottom, you will have to stagger the sheet layers so that you cover one end, then cover the other end with the next two sheets.
- Brush the first two sheets with melted butter, making sure to brush all the edges. Place two phyllo sheets on top, and brush with melted butter. Repeat until you have 10 sheets layered in the dish.
- Setting aside 1 tablespoon for garnish, evenly spread the nut filling mixture over the phyllo layer. Continue layering the phyllo sheets as above.
- Using a sharp knife, gently cut into three length-wise sections. Then cut width-wise into 6 sections. You will now have 24 squares.
- If you prefer smaller pieces, make diagonal cuts, cutting each square into triangles (48). Bake the baklava for 50 minutes or until the phyllo is golden-brown.
Meanwhile, make the syrup.
- Place 1 cup of sugar in a small sauce pan with the water. Add a cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- This will allow the sugar-saturated water to create a thick syrup without caramelizing. Just as the syrup boils, reduce the heat to low.
- Do not let the syrup boil again. Add the honey, vanilla, and orange zest. Let simmer for 10 minutes or until the baklava has finished cooking.
- Once the baklava has cooked, remove it from the oven and immediately spoon all of the syrup over the baklava. Sprinkle with the remaining nuts. Cool to room temperature.
- Serve with high-quality vanilla ice cream. Store uncovered.
