Classic Greek Baklava
I think I have said it before, pumpkin pie is NOT my favorite. In fact, I don't even like it! So with Thanksgiving upon us, I offered to bring another dessert to sit along side the traditional pumpkin pie. It was a fairly easy decision, as my family considers ourselves at least half Greek. I do have a failed attempt behind me in making Bougatsa, but have never made Baklava before, so I was pretty excited to give it a whirl!
The filling is a simple mixture of walnuts, cinnamon, sugar and butter. I was too busy concentrating during the layering to stop and take any pictures. It was quite easy though - pastry then filling, pasty then filling. Do not forget to butter between the sheets!!
A great tip on the recipe was to cut the baklava before baking!! I am sure this saved a huge mess in the presentation portion of this dish!!
This was the step where I thought I had lost the dessert. You bubble a simple syrup of water, sugar, honey and vanilla. Then you pour it right over top of that golden, crispy, buttery pastry. The syrup was quite thin and runny and I was quite sure I would end up with soupy baklava.
However, when it cooled for several hours it did turn into a perfectly sticky mess!!! This is not a dessert to be finishing up when your guests are arriving!! Make sure to do it in the morning and allow that syrup to set!
It turned out really well. I was quite pleased with it and hope to perfect it over some time. Perhaps my signature dessert??? The comments from those who where lucky enough to enjoy it were that they would have liked more layers of phyllo between the nut layers and smaller pieces of nuts. They loved how moist the dessert was.
I found it overpoweringly sweet!! Perhaps it should be served with coffee to cut the sweetness. I may cut out the sugar in the filling and a little less honey in the sauce next time?? Just to see if I can bring that down a bit. I will definitely try more phyllo as suggested in between the layers as well.
I hope you all give it a try
You can get the recipe here!
Enjoy
CC.
Another easy way to do this is to use phyllo cups and fill. Bite size baklava...less calories - even if you eat more ;)PS Blog is not necessarily abandoned....just zero time to post. Have made a few great dishes though (right now cooking a maple whiskey pork loin that smells out of this world....and now have a new favourite crab stuffed mushroom recipe).
ReplyDeleteCathy - Oh, such a good idea!! Do you still pour the syrup over the little cups???
ReplyDeleteOkay, please blog the maple whiskey pork!! I would love to try that with the roasted veggies next time!!
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