So since my family wonders what kind of food I’m making at the South Pole, I’ve been trying to take pictures of a few dishes I’m cooking. Baklava seems to be as good of any place to start.
This has led to a way for me to compile recipes along the way for everyone on this site.
I try to steer towards healthier recipes but sometimes you just need something rich and sweet, as baklava tends to be. I also haven’t made a recipe since my kaiser rolls recipe, which should be calls for a riot.
Baklava is an aromatic Turkish-style dessert that was said to have been perfected in the palaces of Istanbul, though it’s been adapted to many other countries. The Baklava I use is more Greek than Turkish, as Greek Baklava usually has a honey-based syrup which reminds me of home. Turkish Baklava generally uses a sugar-based syrup that doesn’t have my favorite distinctive honey flavor.
Here’s the Baklava recipe:
Honey Pistachio Baklava
Makes 1/2 sheet pan
- 2 Packages of Phyllo Dough (Preferably the Athens brand that hasn’t been frozen)
- 16 oz. Melted Butter
- 16 oz. Walnuts or Pistachios, crushed (I used pistachios in the one I made)
- 3 oz. Cinnamon Sugar Mixture
- 14 oz. Sugar
- 8 oz. Water
- 9 oz. Corn Syrup
- 9 oz. Honey
- Melt the butter in the microwave or on the stove. Brush the sides and bottom of whatever oven-proof pan you’re using with some melted butter.
- Preheat your oven to 375 F. Layer 7 sheets of the phyllo, alternating with brushing every layer with melted butter.
- Sprinkle a 1/3 of the cinnamon sugar on top of the 7th buttered layer of phyllo and add 1/3 of the nuts. You’re going to need enough nuts and cinnamon sugar for four layers so use your best judgement what that would be.
- Layer 3 more phyllo/butter layers. Repeat step 3 two more times and layer 7 phyllo/butter layers on top. Brush the top with; you guessed it!, more butter!
- Wrap the pan up and refrigerate for a half hour. Cut 3/4 of the way through the phyllo, making about 24 square (4X6 if you don’t feel like math-ing today!). Now, in the same direction for all of them, cut 3/4 of the way through each square, making a triangle shape/diamond pattern.
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Bake for 12-18 minutes (depending on your oven) until deliciously golden brown.
- While your baklava is cooking, start making your syrup. Combine the sugar, corn syrup, water, and honey in a small pot and bring to a boil. Cook until it’s syrupy (think slightly thinner pancake syrup). Cool your syrup down so it’s cold.
- Once the baklava comes out of the oven, pour your cold syrup all over your pastry and making sure it is evenly distributed. One of the main tricks to making baklava is ACTUALLY making sure your syrup is cold when you pour it.
If you pour hot syrup all over the hot pastry, it is going to continue cooking the phyllo and eventually make it soggy faster.
You can do it in reverse, as in cook the baklava completely and while it’s cooling, cook your syrup. Pour the hot syrup over the cold pastry and voila! Perfectly warmed baklava.
- (and final step!) Since you only cut the baklava 3/4 of the way through the first time (you did that, right?), cut the pieces the rest of the way. Let the pastry cool and serve!
Most of the recipes I’m wanting to post on here are scaled down, as I work in an industrial kitchen cooking for 50-1000 people. This one will likely feed around 50 people.
If you don’t know 50 people to give a piece to or don’t want to share this with 50 other people, scale it down even more. Hopefully you enjoyed, make sure you sign up for my mailing list for new recipes (about 2 a month), and comment below on a recipe you would enjoy seeing me make!
