Baklava
There are many recipes for Baklava but they all follow the same theme – nuts, phyllo pastry, butter, honey and sugar… This one has the additional ingredient of “dancing”!

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  Serves:  24       Print   

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Ingredients
  • 1 packet phyllo (filo) pastry
  • 180 g (6 oz/1 cup) butter, margarine or ghee
For the filling
  • 125 g (4 oz) unsalted pistachios
  • 125 g (4 oz) walnut halves
  • 100 g (3½ oz) almond, sliced, chopped or whole
  • 55 g (2 oz/¼ cup) sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon powder
  • ¼ tsp allspice (optional)
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg (optional)
  • ¼ tsp mace (optional)
  • ¼ tsp cloves powder (optional)
For the syrup
  • 375 g (13 oz) honey
  • 165 g (6 oz/¾ cup) sugar
  • Juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
  1. Take 2 tbsp of the pistachios and grind them. This will make the decorative garnish for the baklava.
  2. Place the remaining ingredients for the filling into a food processor and process to a medium texture.
  3. Brush a 7″ x 11″ (18 cm x 28 cm) baking tray with butter.
  4. Carefully lay one sheet of phyllo pastry into the pan so that half of it is inside the pan and half outside. Brush the inside half with butter.
  5. Fold the phyllo back into the pan and brush with butter.
  6. Repeat Steps 4 and 5 with another 4 sheets of pastry.
  7. Spread on one half the nut mixture, then place 2 more phyllo sheets on top according to Steps 4 and 5.
  8. Spread the remaining nuts on the pastry. Layer another 4 sheets of pastry on top according to Steps 4 and 5.
  9. With a sharp knife, cut through the top layer of pastry to mark out the final baklava pieces.
  10. Bake in the oven at 180°C for 30 minutes.
  11. Prepare the syrup by adding the syrup ingredients into a pan with 250 ml (1 cup) of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes to reduce the volume. Turn off the heat and allow to cool completely.
  12. Remove the baklava from the oven, cover with baking foil, and bake for a further 20 minutes.
  13. Remove the baklava from the oven, remove the foil and pour on the cold syrup. You may not need to add all the syrup. Allow to cool for a few hours.
  14. Once the baklava is cold, cut down through the score marks to create the baklava pieces. Remove from the tray and serve.
Titli's Tips
Keep the unused pastry covered with a tea-towel to stop it drying out.

If you get bubbles in your pastry when you are making the layers, brush them towards the edge of the tray.

If your baklava seems too soggy on the bottom, place them around the outside of a plate with a raised edge and allow them to stand for a couple of hours to remove excess syrup.

Nutrition Facts
Amount Per Serving       % Daily Value
Calories 254 12%
Calories from Fat 131
Total Fat 14.6g 22%
Saturated Fat 4.8g 24%
Unsaturated Fat 8.9g
   
Amount Per Serving       % Daily Value
Total Carbohydrate 30.4g 10%
Dietary Fibre 1.7g 6%
Sugars 22.7g
Protein 3.5g 7%
Cholesterol 16.1mgs 5%
Percent Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet.