Baklava-a Traditional Mediterranean Sweet Treat

Baklava has always been a food full of memories for me. Growing up in a family that loved to cook foods from different cultures, in addition to marrying into an Armenian family , I have had a passion for Mediterranean food for years. My fondest memory of Baklava is from my college years when some girl friends and I spent our spring break in Greece. We loved every minute of our time in Greece and although it was the Europe on $5 a day era….we found ourselves a bit short on money the last three days of our trip. Knowing we needed to save enough money for our ferry boat ride back to Italy where we were living and studying, we decided the best use of the remainder of our money would be to skip conventional restaurant meals and survive for our last three days in Greece on Baklava. What a GREAT decision that was. This weekend we had our reunion with the folks we had the privilege of traveling with through Turkey and Greece a few months ago. I decided to bring Baklava for us to all enjoy since it had been one of our group’s favorite treats on our trip. Years ago, my husband’s Nana taught me how to make her Armenian version of Baklava and I have tried various other recipes over the years, but I decided to go back to our roots make my favorite Baklava Recipe…….and I will share it here with you……

Ingredients
1 (16 oz) package Phyllo dough, thawed according to package instructions
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 pound (4 cups) walnuts finely chopped (for a more authentic Turkish version, use pistachios)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ cup sugar
1 cup honey
3 Tablespoons lemon juice (juice of 1 lemon)
¾ cup water

Prep Phyllo dough

Thaw phyllo dough according to package instruction(overnight in refrig and then 2 hours on counter). Open the package and lay the phyllo dough out and trim to fit your pan. (I used a large 10×14 lasagna pan so I was able to cut my sheets in half but if you use a 9×13 you will cut the sheet in half and then trim the edges slightly.)Once your sheets are trimmed you should have a stack of 40 sheets of dough. cover them with a pice of wax paper and a slightly damp towel until ready to use.
Make honey sauce first so it has time to cool.
Mix sugar, honey, lemon juice and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat stirring often. Turn the heat down to medium low and allow to boil 4 minutes without stirring. Set aside until cool.
Baklava assembly
Preheat over not 325 degrees.
Pulse walnuts in a food processor until finely chopped (about 10-12 pulses). Place nuts in a medium bowl and add cinnamon. (I recommend using high quality cinnamon).
Melt the butter and lightly butter bottom and sides of your pan.
Begin layering your first 10 sheets of phyllo dough in your pan, buttering each layer with a pastry brush. Sprinkle ¾ cup nut mixture over stack of 10 buttered phyllo dough sheets. Layer 5 sheets of dough, buttering each sheet as before. Then sprinkle another ¾ cup of nut on top. Assemble three more sets of 5 buttered phyllo dough sheets and ¾ cup of walnut mixture and end with a top layer of 10 buttered phyllo dough sheets.
Your layering formula is 10 phyllo-nuts-5 phyllo-nuts (4 times)-10 phyllo.
Your Baklava is now ready to cut and bake.

Cut your Baklava lengthwise into 1 ½ in wide strips. then cut diagonally to form diamonds.
Bake 325 degrees for 1 hour. Watch carefully at about 50 minutes as some ovens bake faster. Top should be golden brown and look crispy. Remove from oven and immediately spoon cooled honey-lemon syrup over entire pan of Baklava making sure to cover entire top. You will hear it sizzle as the syrup permeates the golden Baklava layers. For best results let your Baklava cool completely for 4-6 hours uncovered before serving. This is a great dessert to make a few days ahead because the longer it sits at room temperature, the better it tastes. Once completely cooled you can cover pan with a dishtowel until you are ready to serve. You can garnish your Baklava with some chopped walnuts if desired. You can store Baklava up to 2 weeks.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Baklava-a Traditional Mediterranean Sweet Treat

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

1 hour

Total time

1 hour 30 mins

 

A typical Mediterranean dessert that is made of flaky Phyllo dough and chopped walnuts, cinnamon and a lemony-honey syrup.

Author: Kerry

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Serves: 30

Ingredients

• 1 (16 oz) package Phyllo dough, thawed according to package instructions
• 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 pound (4 cups) walnuts finely chopped (for a more authentic Turkish version, use pistachios)
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 cup honey
• 3 Tablespoons lemon juice (juice of 1 lemon)
• ¾ cup water

Instructions

1. Prep Phyllo dough
2. Thaw phyllo dough according to package instruction(overnight in refrig and then 2 hours on counter). Open the package and lay the phyllo dough out and trim to fit your pan. (I used a large 10x14 lasagna pan so I was able to cut my sheets in half but if you use a 9x13 you will cut the sheet in half and then trim the edges slightly.)Once your sheets are trimmed you should have a stack of 40 sheets of dough. cover them with a pice of wax paper and a slightly damp towel until ready to use.
3. Make honey sauce first so it has time to cool.
4. Mix sugar, honey, lemon juice and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat stirring often. Turn the heat down to medium low and allow to boil 4 minutes without stirring. Set aside until cool.
5. Baklava assembly
6. Preheat over not 325 degrees.
7. Pulse walnuts in a food processor until finely chopped (about 10-12 pulses). Place nuts in a medium bowl and add cinnamon. (I recommend using high quality cinnamon).
8. Melt the butter and lightly butter bottom and sides of your pan.
9. Begin layering your first 10 sheets of phyllo dough in your pan, buttering each layer with a pastry brush. Sprinkle ¾ cup nut mixture over stack of 10 buttered phyllo dough sheets. Layer 5 sheets of dough, buttering each sheet as before. Then sprinkle another ¾ cup of nut on top. Assemble three more sets of 5 buttered phyllo dough sheets and ¾ cup of walnut mixture and end with a top layer of 10 buttered phyllo dough sheets.
10. Your layering formula is 10 phyllo-nuts-5 phyllo-nuts (4 times)-10 phyllo.
11. Your Baklava is now ready to cut and bake.
12. Cut your Baklava lengthwise into 1 ½ in wide strips. then cut diagonally to form diamonds.
13. Bake 325 degrees for 1 hour. Watch carefully at about 50 minutes as some ovens bake faster. Top should be golden brown and look crispy. Remove from oven and immediately spoon cooled honey-lemon syrup over entire pan of Baklava making sure to cover entire top. You will hear it sizzle as the syrup permeates the golden Baklava layers. For best results let your Baklava cool completely for 4-6 hours uncovered before serving. This is a great dessert to make a few days ahead because the longer it sits at room temperature, the better it tastes. Once completely cooled you can cover pan with a dishtowel until you are ready to serve. You can garnish your Baklava with some chopped walnuts if desired. You can store Baklava up to 2 weeks.

3.2.2925