Baklava is a delicious phyllo pastry popular in Middle Eastern countries. Its supposed origins are Turkish, dating to the Byzantine Empire (or even further), though many cultures claim it for their own. Many Greek and Lebanese restaurants do serve this. Baklava is usually layer with crispy phyllo dough alternate with sugary spiced nut mixture, and the whole thing is then soaked in fragrant sweet syrup made with honey, lemon and cinnamon.
The baklava I made is a bit different from the traditional kind. Instead of the layering kind I made it into rolls and didn’t bath it with sugar syrup or honey. I cut down the amount of sugar in the filling and replace it with some dried apricots. Making this is a bit time consuming and handling the tissue paper-thin phyllo dough can be tricky at times as they break easily. But the end results were all worthwhile. You will be rewarded with exotic, flaky, crunchy, sweet and decadent dessert.If you can get phyllo dough do try this out as I am sure you are going to love it as much as we do.
Ingredients:
½ cup toasted almonds
1 cup toasted walnuts
½ cup chopped dried apricots
3 tbsp sugar
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
3 tbsp honey
Zest of one orange
Juice of half orange or more
18 sheets of phyllo dough
1 ½ stick/3/4 cup tbsp of melted butter
2. On a dry work surface place 1 sheet of phyllo. Using a pastry brush, lightly cover the entire sheet of phyllo with melted butter. Cover the first sheet with a second sheet of phyllo and brush with melted butter. Continue until there is a stack of 6 sheets of phyllo.
5. Remove the baklava and let it cool on a wire rack before serving.
sedapnya baklava... aritu beli jugak baklava pistachio sbb teringin sangat nak makan.. hihi
ReplyDeletethis is new to me, it look very similar to a spring roll.
ReplyDeleteThe filling seems so yummy to me!
ReplyDeleteNice dish!
beautifully Made!
ReplyDeleteThe baklava looks delicious. And I like that you formed spring-roll shapes instead of the standard diamond-ish ones...seems easier to eat.
ReplyDeleteI believe I will like this... the lightness of the phyllo pastry and the exotic flavours of the filling...
ReplyDeletehi gert! 1st time i makan baklava terussssss jatuh cinta! sedap betullah! drooling tgk ur giant baklava :D
ReplyDeleteGert,
ReplyDeleteI Baklava hantu!!!!I've tried all sort of recipes and to me semua sedap..hahahaha.I have 2 kilos of pistachios from Bahrain but I saja takmo buat as my tummy looks as though I'm 5 months pregnant...side effects of my makan holiday in Malaysia!!
I like how you cut down on the sugar as I often find baklava very very sweet.
ReplyDeletelooks like popiah, sound delicious too.
ReplyDeleteI like the way you roll them, Gert. Normally, baklava is done by stacking them or layering them. Thanks for sharing. Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteKristy
I have no idea what is this but it do looks delicious. And it's a great dessert to serve during parties or gathering but it really takes a lot of time. Thanks for sharing this...:)
ReplyDeleteI like the spring roll stuff, looks neat.
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to try out baklava,but was very very scared with the amount of sugar used.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a very nice improvisation.
Thanks!!!
There was a time that I love eating this sweet delicious desert. I guess it was after I returned from my trip to Greece. I noticed you didn't add pistachios in the nut mixture...isn't it the key ingredient? But I think it still looks really good ...crunchy light outside and sweet nutty filly, yum!
ReplyDeleteI made mine and after baking and cool dip in melted chocolate at both end. My child like pecan nut which is what I use in recipe.
ReplyDeleteI also made some roll and cut it and baked it.
Ann
Delish, I had some yesterday stuffed with a pistachio cream..
ReplyDeleteI love baklava...would make some for my family. Thanks for sharing :D
ReplyDeleteI love Baklava! I will have to try your version!
ReplyDeletehello there.
ReplyDeleteI love your blog.
your baklava looks delicious!
I've not made these for a while by looking at yours, I'll probably make them again next week.
I did too cut down on the sugar and I baked them in muffin cups.
Keep on cooking and sharing!
Thanks
Yay for less sweet baklava! They look delicious! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteUh oh, this means trouble!!! If I make these, I'm afraid I will eat every single one of them!!!! :)
ReplyDeletelove baklawa fingers. i try to stay away
ReplyDeleteMmm..look so good for an afternoon tea.
ReplyDeletebeautifully made!
ReplyDeleteGrate baklava. Looks yummy. Once I've made it, including sheets. And it was a hard job. At this point I am only going to eat it! :)However, according some sources, baklava origins from ancient Persia. Regards, Magdalena
ReplyDeleteaiyooo..you so rajin make this...hmmmm..I saw its sell at the store but never had one of this b4..must try one day!
ReplyDeletewhat a lovely idea
ReplyDeleteI won't bring on the topic of where Baklava originated but I did have the best best Baklava in Turkey while on a summer vacation. Thats a thing to say because living in the middle east I have tasted quite a bit of Baklava. Yours look fabulous :)
ReplyDeleteYeah Baklava is really sweet! Love your idea of cutting down the sugar!
ReplyDeleteHana, ha ha this dessert kat sini mahal sangat. Satu keping kecik cost like $3 so baik buat sendiri :)
ReplyDeleteSonia, yes it does look like spring roll.
Wai Kitt & Zurin, thank you.
Indie Tea, yes I think this is much easier to handle compare to the traditional diamond shape kind.
Shirley, I am sure you will too. The pastry is super flaky and the sweetness of the filling is perfect.
Ijayuji, memang lah sedap kan. Ni actually tak besar sangat. Just two bite size saja :)
Shereen, ha ha you like it too. So what are you doing to make out of the 2 kilo pistachios?
Pigpigscorner, yes especially when they soak it in syrup. Way too sweet for my taste too.
Jess, it is.
ReplyDeleteKristy, you are most welcome.
Reese, this is a dessert from the Middle East. If you have a chance do try it out. I am sure you are going to like. Yes this is great for party.
Maya, look like spring roll but it is actually a dessert.
Wendy, you have to try it out at least once as I am sure you will like the flaky pastry :)
Bee Bee, traditional kind used Pistachios but you can actually improvise by using any type of nuts or dried fruits.
Ann, I guess kids like it with chocolate.
Jennifurla, mmmmm sounds good too :)
Zoe, you are welcome.
ReplyDeleteBlissmade Design, hope you like it.
Anon, thank you for you support and your kind words.
Jet, you are welcome.
Pretty.Good.Food, ha ha yes this can be addictive. You can't stop at just eating one or two.
Mira, :)
Anncoo, yes it is.
Cherine, thank you.
Magdalena, yes handling the phyllo is hard work :)
Lesley, do try this Baklava out if you have a chance. I am sure you are going to like it.
Lily, thanks
Kulsum, thank you.
Leemei, thank you.
They look so crisp! I like them with nuts.
ReplyDeleteOh your post made me really miss this dessert! I haven't had any since I left Australia many, many years ago. I had the opportunity of tasting baklava - flown over from Beirut - by a friend and I had no words to describe it.
ReplyDeleteI think it is time to make some myself!
Wow! it looks so delicious. I think I'll gonna try that.
ReplyDeleteI just made some of the Baklava Rolls. Oh how I could get hooked on these. They are so AWSOME. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI know this recipe a bit different. Instead of making rolls, you put one sheet of dough, all the ingredients on top of it and you cover it all with another sheet of dough. Cut the whole thing into little squares about 1 inch and then pour on top of it a syrop made of water, honey and sugar. And then put it in the oven.
ReplyDeleteHi...Was thinking of baking this for this raya. Wondering do they keep well? Can I store them in air-tight bottle? For how long according to your experience?
ReplyDelete