Baklava
Equipment
- 8*13 or 9*13 Baking Pan
- Pastry Brush
- Sharp Knife
Ingredients
- 8 oz walnuts or almonds, toasted
- 8 oz pistachio, toasted
- 1 lb frozen phyllo pastry, thawed overnight in the fridge
- 1 cup sugar, divided
- 1 cup good quality honey local prefrebaly
- 1 medium whole orange, zested and 2 tablespoon juice
- 1 tbsp orange blossom water optional, I love the floral aroma it imparts. You don't have to buy just for this recipe
- 1 tablespoon rose water optional
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, about 1¼ cup melted
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1-2 pods cardamom optional
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg optional
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a food processor, combine the toasted nuts, 2 tablespoons of sugar, cinnamon and salt and pulse until finely chopped, about 8-10 times, leaving some of the nuts in larger pieces for texture.
- Brush a 9x13-inch baking pan generously with some of the melted butter. Place 1 sheet of phyllo on the bottom of the prepared pan and trim it to fit. Trim the remaining sheets to about the same size with a sharp knife or scissors. Brush generously with melted butter and repeat with 5 more sheets of phyllo, gently pressing each layer. Make sure you cover the stack of phyllo with a damp towel at all times to prevent it from drying out.
- Sprinkle with about 1 cup of prepared nuts evenly. Top the nut mixture with a phyllo sheet and brush it generously with butter. Repeat with 5 more buttered phyllo sheets. Repeat with another cup of the nut mixture.
- Top with 10 phyllo sheets, brushing each sheet generously with butter.
- Using a sharp knife, cut the phyllo layers into 24 (about 2 1/4-inch) squares. Cut each square in half on the diagonal. Bake until golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes. Set the baklava pan on a wire rack.
- Meanwhile, make the syrup while the baklava bakes (The syrup should be ready when the baklava comes out of the oven.) In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, honey, 1 cup of water. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the orange juice, orange zest and blossom waters if using.
- Slowly pour the hot syrup all over the hot baklava carefully, covering the entire surface. Sprinkle the 3 tablespoons of chopped toasted pistachios on top. Let stand at room temperature on a wire rack at least 4 hours or up to overnight before serving. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to a week. I like to warm it for few seconds in the microwave before eating.
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