Diana's Desserts - www.dianasdesserts.com

Barbara's Baklava

in Diana's Recipe Book

Average Rating: 
(total ratings: 2)
[Read reviews] [Post a review]
Servings: Makes 24-36 slices
 
Comments:
This baklava recipe is dedicated to my late sister Barbara..Your loving sister Diana

Popular in Greece and Turkey, this sweet dessert consists of many layers of butter-drenched phyllo pastry, spices and chopped nuts. A spiced honey-lemon syrup is poured over the warm pastry after it's baked and allowed to soak into the layers. Before serving, the dessert is cut into triangles and sometimes sprinkled with coarsely ground nuts.

Ingredients:
For Baklava:
1 box frozen (1 pound) phyllo dough, defrosted according to directions on package
1 pound butter (salted), or 1/2 pound butter and 1/2 pound margarine
4 cups finely chopped walnuts (see note #1 below)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

For Syrup Topping:
4 cups granulated sugar
2 cups water
1 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. lemon juice

Instructions:
Prepare syrup (see recipe below) and let cool while making baklava. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F/190 degrees C. Mix walnuts, sugar, and cinnamon together. Melt the butter in a bowl. Use some of the butter on a pastry brush to butter a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.

Open and unroll phyllo roll. Keep the roll covered with a very slightly dampened towel all the time you're not taking sheets off (see note #2 below).

Peel one sheet of phyllo from the roll, place it on a flat surface, and brush it with melted butter. Use plenty of butter and cover the whole sheet but don't leave pools of butter (as you use butter don't stir the solids up a lot, use the butter off the top.) Take another sheet, lay it on top of the first sheet, and butter it. Repeat with 2 more sheets of phyllo (total of 4 sheets, each buttered). Sprinkle 3/4 to 1 cup of nut mixture over the phyllo stack. Don't put nuts closer than 1/2 inch to the short sides. Along one short side of the stack, fold over 1/2-inch of dough and butter the fold. Roll the stack into a log. Place the roll into the baking dish and butter the roll. Continue to make rolls with the rest of the filo, using 4 sheets for each.

Using a sharp knife slice each roll diagonally into slices about 2 inches wide. Place baking dish in the bottom third of the oven and bake until very golden brown, about 25-30 minutes (use more time if necessary, be sure baklava is well-baked). Pour about 2 cups of cooled syrup over hot baklava. If all the syrup gets absorbed add more until a little is left around the rolls. When baklava is cool you may, if desired, remove slices and place in paper muffin cups for serving.

To Make Syrup Topping:
Combine sugar and water in a saucepan and boil for 15 minutes. Add honey and lemon juice and boil for 5 minutes more. Remove from heat and cool before pouring over hot baked baklava.

Notes:
#1. The nuts should be in very small pieces - a hand-grinder works best. A food processor may be used but don't let them get ground to powder.

#2. Handling the sheets of phyllo requires a gentle touch. Don't worry about tears in the sheets, just place them and butter them and they will work fine. Keep remaining phyllo covered with the damp towel all the time - if the sheets dry out they become very brittle. If the sheets stick together too much the roll has becore too wet, so leave the towel off until they separate more easily.

#3. Pronounce "baklava" with the accent on the first syllable.

#4. You can use finely ground pistachio's or almonds in place of walnuts if so desired.

Makes 24-36 slices baklava.

Source: DianasDesserts.com
Date: February 3, 2002-Revised 1-8-2012

Reviews

Reviewer: ann cooper
Rating: 
Review:
Not only great but it took no time to make. THANKS!!! P.S. I LOOKED FOR THIS ON FOOD NETWORK AND THEY DID NOT HAVE A RECIPE!!

 
Reviewer: rose
Rating: 
Review:
Just made this for a birthday party.

 

Add Your Review

  YOUR NAME (required)
  YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS (required)
 (Excellent)
 (Very Good)
 (Good)
 (Could be Better)
 (Poor)
  RATING (required)
YOUR REVIEW:

More Recipes in this Section

Viennese Topfenstrudel with Vanilla Sauce Aguas Frescas Alfajores (Caramel Sandwich Cookies) Alfajores-South Amercian Sandwich Cookies Almond Tuiles Amaretti Apfelkuchen-Spicy Apple Cake Aqua Fresca de Sandia (Watermelon) Arroz Doce-Portugues Rice Pudding Bakewell Tart Banana Hazelnut Empanadas Banoffi Pie Barbara's Baklava Basic Crêpes Berry-Apple Empanadas Bienenstich Cake (Bee Sting Cake) Blancmange with Orange Sauce Bonet Bugia Buñuelos Cajeta (dulce de leche) Calabaza en Tacha Cannoli Cassata Cake Champurrado (Mexican Hot Chocolate Drink) Cherry Bakewell Tartlets Chocolate Chip Cannoli Chocolate Panna Cotta Chocolate Tres Leches Cake Chocolate-Orange Biscotti Churros Cigarettes Russes (Piroulines) Classic Vanilla Pots de Creme Cornish Saffron Cake Crema Catalana Crème Brûlée Crêpes Suzette Crostata della Nonna Danish Aebleskiver Danish Flødeboller Danish Kringle Dobos Torte Dutch Stroopwafels Easy Dulce de Leche Easy Norwegian Lefse Empanadas de Guayaba (Guava Turnovers) England's Victoria Sponge Cake French Almond Macaroons French Madeleines Fresh Berry Tiramisu German Style Cheesecake (Kaesekuchen) Grand Marnier Creme Caramel Greek Kourambiedes Cookies Gur Cake for St. Patrick's Day Harry's Bar Torta di Zabaglione Horchata Hungry Monk Banoffi Pie Irish Apple Crumble Irish Porter Cake Jammie Dodgers (Clone) Biscuit Sandwich Käsekuchen - German Cheesecake Kasutera-Japanese Sponge Cake Kuih Lapis or Kueh Lapis Lamington's Lemon Taralli Lemon Walnut Biscotti Limonada Madeira Cake Ma'moul (Date Patries from Syria) Mango Pudding Mascarpone Filled Bougatsa Mexican Brownies Mexican Chocolate Cake Mexican Chocolate Chip Cookies
Mexican Chocolate Chip Cookies Mexican Chocolate Layer Cake Mexican Chocolate Pie-Pastel de Chocolate Mexicano Mexican Coffee (Café de Olla) Mexican Hot Chocolate Mexican Raspadas (snow cones) Mexican Wedding Cakes (Cookies) Milk Chocolate Cannoli with Pistaschios Milk Chocolate Semifreddo Miniature Baklava Bites Moravian Sugar Cake Muah Chee Nanaimo Bars Old English Trifle Paletas (Mexican Popsicles) Pan di Spagna Pan Di Spagna (Italian Sponge Cake) Pandan Chiffon Cake Pandan Layer Cake Pandoro di Verona Panettone Panna Cotta Panna Cotta with Berries Paris-Brest Pasta Ciotti or Pasticiotti (Little Custard Tarts) Pasta Frolla - Italian Sweet Pastry Dough Pastéis de Nata-Portuguese Egg Custard Tarts Petits Pots de Crème à l'Orange Picarones Pierre Herme's Chocolate Macaroons Pikelets Pine Nut Amaretti Pithiviers Princess Cake Quick and Easy Buñuelos Ris ala mande with Cherry Sauce Rosettes and Timbales Sachertorte Savarin (French Ring Cake) Savoiardi (Ladyfingers) Scandinavian Christmas Gløgg Scottish Petticoat Tails Shortbread Smoutebollen-From Belgium Sopapillas Spiced Apple Cake with Guava Cream Cheese Spiced Citrus Pikelets Steamed Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao) Sticky Toffee Pudding Strawberries with Balsamic Vinegar Swedish Apple-Lingonberry Cake Swedish Pancakes Sweet Rice Flour and Coconut Cake (Butter Mochi) Sweet Rice with Mangoes Sweet Tamales Swiss Zopf Bread Syllabub with Berries Taralli from Puglia The Dairymaid's Wafers (Seterjentas Rømmebrod) The Italian Bellini Tiger Cake-Finland Tiramisu Torta alle Banane (Banana Cake) Torta della nocciola e del cioccolato Torta di Amore Torta di semifreddo del limone Torta Prugna Treacle Toffee Tres Leches Cake with Whipped Cream Topping Tropical Fruit Salad in Jelly Tsoureki (Greek Easter Bread) Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Apricot Coulis Walnut & Rum Raisin Crêpes with Chocolate Sauce Yorkshire Pudding Zuccotto Alla Cioccolato