Monday, April 14, 2014

Baklava


It's that time of the month again....Secret Recipe Club.  This time we have been assigned Sids Sea Palm Cooking. I love that she takes pictures as shes going along like we do. She has such a wide variety of foods to pick from but I love Greek food so it was a very easy choice when I saw that she had made Baklava. Baklava has always been on my list of foods to make and I thought it was much harder to make than it actually was. There is no question that phyllo dough can be a little tricky to work with.  I ended up throwing one roll away as it was half frozen and broke everywhere was I was unrolling it.  It's good I had extras in the freezer. Even if the layer ended up not being in one piece brushing the butter the layers made everything come together. The hardest part was waiting 24 hours to eat it.  We only waited about 18 but that was enough for all the syrup to soak into the layers of dough.

Ingredients:
1 lb. walnuts, finely chopped
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
3 sticks unsalted butter
1 package phyllo dough (16 oz.) thawed
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
10 oz. honey
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Melt the 3 sticks of butter in the microwave.  Set aside until a little cool.  Finely chop the walnuts in a food processor.  Add sugar and cinnamon and pulse.  Set aside.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.


Brush the bottom of the pan with some melted butter to start with.  Put phyllo dough to cover the bottom of the pan.  Brush all over with melted butter.  Put another layer down. Do the same with the butter.  Do eight layers total of dough brushing with butter each time.


Put 1/3 of the nut mixture on top of the 8 layers of dough.


Now do another 8 layers of dough again brushing with melted butter in between each layer.  Add another 3rd of the nut mixture and now another 8 layers of the dough with the melted butter. Then add the last of the nut mixture. Top with 8 more layers of dough with the butter.  Now before it bakes you need to cut it into your squares or triangles because it won't work if you cut it after it bakes.  This can be a little messy but make your cuts with a sharp knife carefully.  After its cut into pieces put in the preheated oven and cook for 40 minutes until the top is brown.


While the baklava is cooking in the oven its time to make the syrup.  In a saucepan add 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar and 1 tbsp of fresh lemon.  Bring to a boil and then cook for another 10 minutes stirring once in a while to make the mixture into syrup.


Take off the heat and add the honey and vanilla extract to the syrup mixture.


When the baklava comes out of the oven pour over the top making sure to pour the syrup everywhere.


It will look like too much syrup but it will soak in.  Now let it sit overnight on the counter covered with foil so that the syrup gets into all the layers.


Enjoy!!



Linked at: http://www.thecountrycook.net/



18 comments:

  1. Baklava is sooooo good! Great SRC choice...my mouth is watering!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It looks good and has been on my list of things to make for a while but I've never quite been brave enough. Great choice.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is sitting on my cooking bucket list - I really need to make.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Baklava! Such a favourite around here. I love that you even made the proper syrup.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow, so decadent with all that butter! Sounds delicious. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. YUM! I just ate a bowl of baklava frozen greek yogurt last night and it got me in the mood for just baklava...and I have a box of puffed pastry in my freezer just waiting to be used.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yum. It's be a while since I made baklava, but this has me thinking about it again. Great choice

    ReplyDelete
  8. YUM - I haven't had baklava in so long, and your version looks moouthwaterinly outstanding! I don't think I could wait the 24 hours, either!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks for the kind words, and Baklava is amazingly easy to make, sigh, (for my waistline that is). This does taste a lot better if you can stand to let it set a couple of days, then it gets amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I started making baklava last year, it's easier than it looks, isn't it? At least if you buy ready made dough, I haven't tried rolling my own yet!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I have never made baklava. It looks pretty easy. I'll have to give it a try soon. Thanks for sharing with the SRC.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Looks delicious! I'll have to make this soon!

    ReplyDelete
  13. What size pan do you use? I could not find what kind of pan and the size anywhere. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 13 x 9 is what I used but you can really make it in any size pan.

      Delete
  14. This looks fantastic! I've always loved eating baklava but have never really thought of making it. I really want to have a go now!

    Jonathan

    ReplyDelete
  15. Baklava is a miracle delicacy to me.... You must be a miracle worker int he kitchen to make it so beautifully..... Pinning!! Happy Easter to you and yours…. :)
    “hugs” Crystelle
    Crystelle Boutique

    ReplyDelete
  16. I love baklava but have never made it. This looks so beautiful and delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Baklava is so decadent, one of my favorite treats! Thanks for linking up with What's Cookin' Wednesday!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...