Baklava
I made Baklava for the first time and was super scared as I thought it would be hard to make and would never come out tasty. To my surprise this was one of the easiest desserts I have ever made - the secret lies in the filo pastry (buy the right one is the main tip).
Baklava’s can be found all over the Middle East in many different shapes and sizes as well as different nut and spice adaptations - my personal favourites are Pistachio Baklavas but you can easily exchange the Pistachios with for example walnuts - you can also play with the spices or leave them out all together. Baklava’s are extremely fun to make, yes they are quite the calorie bomb but your guests will love them (plus it’s one of those things people think takes AGES to make and will be even more impressed).
Last little tips: make sure you leave the syrup to cool completely before using it or else your Baklava’s might get soggy, don’t use anything that isn’t filo pastry to make these (I tried, it’s a disaster) and make sure you grind your nuts enough but also not too much.
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 35 Minutes
Ingredients for the Syrup:
Granulated Sugar - 160 g
Lemon Juice - 1 Tbs
Water - 250 mL
Rose Water (if you can find this if not leave out) - 1 Tbs
Ingredients for the Baklava:
Pistachios - 250 g (you can also use walnuts - always 250 g)
Cinnamon (ground) - 1/4 teaspoon
Butter - 75 g
Filo Pastry - 15 sheets (we buy this one)
Salt - a pinch
Decoration:
Keep aside some pistachios/walnuts to decorate on top
Preparation:
Pre-heat the oven to 200°C.
We start the recipe by making the syrup. Take the water, granulated sugar, lemon juice and (optional) rose water and put them in a sauce pan. Cook ad medium heat and do not let boil just simmer for around 5/7 minutes stirring on occasion. Take the syrup away from the fire once it has gotten the right consistency and leave the syrup to cool as it must be 100% cooled before we use it later.
Peel your pistachios/walnuts if you still haven’t (or haven’t bought the already peeled ones). Take a food processor and grind them until they are very fine then add in the cinnamon and a pinch of salt and mix.
Now comes the fun part, take out a baking tray 20-23 cm large (do not put any parchment paper as we will be working directly on the baking tray). Grease it with some butter and lay 5 sheets of filo on top of it (grease every single filo pastry with butter). Once you have done this with the 5 sheets add the pistachio/ walnut mixture evenly with a spoon. Then add another 5 sheets of filo pastry (again buttering each sheet once you lay it down) and after the 5 sheets add another layer of pistachio/ walnut mixture. Finish by adding the last 5 sheets of filo (again butter each). The top layer should be extra buttery.
Now cut the baklavas either into diamonds or squares.
Bake for 35 minutes at 200°C (they should be nice and golden).
Once they are done baking remove them from the oven and immediately add half of the cooled syrup we made in the beginning on top. Leave to rest for 2 minutes then add the other half.
You can now decorate your baklavas with pistachio/walnut pieces. Make sure the baklava cools completely before serving it.
You can store the baklava for 3/4 days in a cookie jar at room temperature.