Homemade Baklava
- Cook 15 minutes
- Total 15 minutes
Homemade Baklava is a dessert recipe on Avoteb. Plan on 15 minutes from start to plate. The amounts and the method are both on this page.
Ingredients
- 1 (16-ounce, 40-sheet) package frozen phyllo dough, thawed to room temperature (see thawing instructions below)
- 1 pound your choice of nuts (I used half walnuts and half pistachios)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups melted butter (preferably clarified butter*)
- 2/3 cup honey
- 2/3 cup water
- 2/3 cup white granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons freshly-squeezed orange juice (or lemon juice)
- 1 tablespoon orange blossom water (optional*)
Method
Thaw the phyllo dough. For best results, move the package of phyllo dough to the refrigerator overnight. Then let it rest on the counter (still in its packaging) at room temperature for 1 hour before working with it.
Make the honey syrup. While that cooks, combine the honey, water, sugar and orange juice in a small saucepan. Warm over medium-a hot burner until the mixture nearly reaches a let it bubble gently, stirring occasionally. Lower heat to medium and continue simmering for 5 minutes. Move the syrup to a heat-safe bowl, mix in the orange blossom water (if using), and refrigerate the syrup until ready to use.
Finely chop the nuts. Pulse the nuts in a food processor until they are finely-chopped. (Alternately, you can chop them by hand with a chef's knife, or place them in a ziplock and pound them with a mallet.) Pulse or stir the nuts together with the cinnamon until combined. Keep nearby a few tablespoons of nuts to use later as a topping, then divide the remaining nuts into 5 equal portions (roughly 3/4 cup per portion) and keep nearby.
Trim the phyllo dough. Unwrap and move the thawed phyllo sheets to a cutting board and use a chef's knife to slice them into a 9 x 13-inch rectangle (to fit the baking dish). Discard the scraps, then lightly cover the stack of phyllo sheets with a damp towel so that they do not dry out.
Lay out your assembly line. Warm oven to 325°F (162°C). Set a 9 x 13-inch baking dish on your work station, followed by the bowl of melted butter, followed by the phyllo sheets, followed by the chopped nuts. Time to begin!
Butter the baking dish. Take a soft pastry brush to lightly brush the inside of the baking dish with butter.
1st layer. Carefully lay 1 phyllo sheet in the baking dish and brush it lightly with butter. (No need for it to be evenly brushed!) Repeat with 9 more sheets, brushing each with butter, until there are 10 sheets total. Scatter approximately 1/5 of the nut mixture evenly over the top layer of phyllo.
2nd layer. Repeat with 5 more phyllo sheets, each lightly brushed with butter, followed by another 1/5 of the nut mixture.
3rd layer. Repeat with 5 more phyllo sheets, each lightly brushed with butter, followed by another 1/5 of the nut mixture.
4th layer. Repeat with 5 more phyllo sheets, each lightly brushed with butter, followed by another 1/5 of the nut mixture.
5th layer. Repeat with 5 more phyllo sheets, each lightly brushed with butter, followed by another 1/5 of the nut mixture.
6th layer. Finally, repeat with the remaining 10 phyllo sheets, each lightly brushed with butter. Brush any remaining butter on the top and final layer.
Slice the baklava. Using a very sharp paring knife, slice the baklava all the way through into your desired shapes/sizes. (the cook sliced mine into diamonds.)
Roast Move the baking dish to the oven and bake for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the top layers of the baklava are golden brown and crispy.
Spoon with syrup. Move the baking dish to a wire cooling rack. Then immediately drizzle the cooled syrup evenly over the top of the hot baklava. (It will sizzle and crack, which is what the cook want!) Sprinkle a pinch of the reserved chopped nuts on top of each piece of baklava as a topping.
Cool to room temperature. Let the baklava sit out uncovered for 3-4 hours until it has completely cooled to room temperature, then serve and enjoy! Storage instructions included below.
