Greek Baklava January 26, 2010
Posted by elly in greek, sweets/desserts.trackback
I seriously don’t know how I have managed to have this blog for over three years and never blog baklava. Surely I have made baklava in that time but it’s always been something I take to work or over to a party, etc. so I guess I never remember to photograph it and write a post about it. This time, too, I made the baklava for my coworker’s birthday. Making a whole tray of baklava for Tom and myself is not really a good idea – in many ways. This way, we still get to steal a couple pieces without going overboard. Plus, I know my coworker’s a big fan, and I figured this would be a different departure from your standard birthday cake or cupcakes. (Last year I actually brought her a Greek walnut cake, karidopita, which I have also apparently never managed to blog…).
Baklava varies by country. Greek baklava tends to just be walnuts, while some other varieties (Turkish, Lebanese, etc.) use pistachios, almonds, etc. Any combination of nuts will be delicious, but I tend to just stick to the basics and go with all walnuts.
Baklava is easy enough to make. I’ve never been a huge fan of working with phyllo, but so long as you work relatively quickly and are relatively patient, it’s fine. In fact, this is one of the easier things to make with phyllo because everything just gets layered so if you tear a sheet here or there, no biggie (and you should have a few extra sheets of phyllo leftover anyway, to replace any casualties). I also keep a damp towel on the phyllo I am not working with, to keep it from cracking/breaking.
Although the layering takes a little time, everything still comes together quite easily as there aren’t many other ingredients or steps. The finishing touch to the baklava is the syrup that gets poured over it, which soaks into all the layers and makes an indulgent, syrupy, delicious triangle of walnutty heaven. I make the honey syrup for pretty much every Greek dessert the same way, which is equal parts sugar, water, and honey. Many people use less honey, but I love honey, so I use a little more. I also don’t add sugar to my filling. Some do and some don’t, but the syrup is sweet enough for me (especially with extra honey) and permeates the baklava, so I don’t think sugar in the filling is necessary. By all means, add a couple tablespoons of sugar to the walnut mixture if you want it to be sweeter, though.
In my opinion, this is best made the day before it’s eaten. The syrup gets a chance to soak in more, and besides, who doesn’t like having a chance to make something in advance instead of having to worry about it the day of?
Greek Baklava
1 lbs. walnuts (add a couple handfuls more if you want it nuttier)
1.5 heaping tsp. cinnamon
1/4 – 1/2 tsp. ground cloves (I tend to go toward the higher end, but it’s about what you want)
1 (16 oz.) package phyllo dough, thawed
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
Syrup
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 cup honey
1 cinnamon stick (optional)
strip of lemon peel, or a couple tsp. fresh lemon juice
Toast the walnuts, either in a dry skillet or a 300 degree oven, until fragrant. Place in a food processor along with the cinnamon and cloves, and buzz until walnuts are pretty finely crushed (obviously you don’t want a powder, but no huge chunks, either).
Preheat the oven to 350.
Grease a 9×13 pan, and place one layer of phyllo at the bottom. Brush the phyllo with the melted butter, and then add another layer of phyllo, and brush with more butter. Continue this process until you have layered about 7 sheets of phyllo.
Spoon 1/4 of the nut mixture evenly over the top. Repeat the process of the phyllo/butter layering again, but this time only use about 5 sheets of phyllo. Continue the layering of the 5 sheets of phyllo and 1/4 of the mixture of walnuts. Finish off with 7 layers of buttered phyllo (and don’t forget to brush butter on the top layer, too).
Using a sharp knife, cut your baklava into diamonds or triangles (at this point, you can also trim any ragged ends or phyllo that sticks out). I used to do diamonds but mine were always a little funky shaped so now I just do triangles. Place in the oven, and bake for about 50 minutes, until golden brown.
To make your syrup, combine all the ingredients and bring to a low boil. Turn the heat to simmer and simmer about 10-15 minutes. Allow the syrup to cool before pouring over the hot-from-the-oven-baklava. Alternatively, you can pour hot syrup over a cooled baklava. It’s your choice, just remember one has to be hot and the other shouldn’t be.
WOW! I am making this for sure. I am glad to have a nice recipe! Thanks!
Elly, the Baklava is fab, more than one one to make it and yours certainly catches the eye. Nicely done!
Thanks for the recipe! I’ve been intimidated to try making baklava for years, but this looks easy enough. Looks like one of the ones I used to get at a local bakery. yum!
I’ve made baklava a few years ago for an Olympic themed party – might have to try this one in a few weeks!
Your Baklava looks perfect!! It slices so beautifully. My sister LOVES baklava – all kinds. I can’t have it because of my nut allergy, but I have been tempted to make it w/o nuts…although I’m not sure how that would turn out considering the nuts are such an integral part of the dessert!
This looks really delicious! Thanks for sharing!
This is not something that I would have easily attempted …up until now. Wow, Thanks you made it sound so easy!!!
I love baklava, especially prepared like this. It looks delicious!
OMG gorgeous!!! I puffy heart baklava so much….
Do you have any good recipes for making phyllo dough from scratch? I’d love to try my hand at a gluten free phyllo dough to try to make this recipe…
Jenn, I’ve never made phyllo from scratch, but Peter at Kalofagas has and it looks great. My grandma always makes her own and it’s SO good but I have yet to experiment or get her recipe. Here’s Peter’s recipe: http://kalofagas.ca/2008/02/09/spanakopita/
One of my faves!…yay to more kanela! I would love to see your recipe for karidopita too..please.
Well, I certainly don’t need an excuse to make a karidopita, so I will try to make one soon and get the recipe up here. I actually bought some paximathia the other day because I happened to come across them, which is not always the easiest thing to do.
I love baklava, I wish I had some now so I could enjoy it with my coffee.
My husband challenged me to make this, so thank for the instructions. I’ll definitely be using them when I get around to it!
I just love this Greek treasure but you are right it doesn’t pay to have an entire tray on hand:D
I think I have 6 recipes for Baklava now!
Eeeek! and I’ve never made a single one…
Soon, very soon.
love baklava! I make it with pistachios and walnuts. Yours looks really good and delicious! Next time I’m going to use walnuts only.
Delicious! One of the best Greek sweets…
That photo killed me !
Awesome, thanks Elly! I just saved the recipe and will definitely be making it!
Yes! The baklava! To everyone else – Elly was kind enough to share this recipe with me before Thanksgiving and I made it for two separate family functions. It was a HUGE hit – everyone loved it!
Thanks, Michelle. I’m so glad everyone liked it! :)
I love baklava too and homemade is so much nicer than shop bought. Having said that, the best I ever tasted was from a baker in Alexandria, Egypt – yum yum. I make mine with a mixture of almonds, walnuts and pistachios.
This is awesome Elly, I’ve been drooling all the way reading your post.
Hi Elly! I just came across your blog looking for a baklava recipe (Jenn of Jenn Cuisine sent me). Will be making this tomorrow, can’t wait! And it’s nice to “meet” you :)
Thanks for stopping by, Amy! Hope you like the baklava :)
You should know that this site is using your image, possibly without your permission. They appropriated one of mine as well (and have since taken it down). Since they derive revenue from ads on their site, I thought you should know that someone is making money on your work.
http://www.happyhappyjoyjoy.net/2010/01/greek-baklava-elly-says-opa/
P.S. The baklava looks delicious!
Thanks for letting me know, Sean!
It is so sweet but I just cant stop eating Baklava when i have it in front of me.
Fellow pregnant Greek lady now desperately craving baklava! Can’t wait to make some!