Baklava is a rich, decadent pastry that is popular in many Middle Eastern and Mediterranean countries. It is made with layers of filo dough, chopped nuts, and sweetened syrup. The filo dough is brushed with melted butter and then rolled up into a spiral shape. The nuts are typically a mixture of walnuts, pistachios, and almonds. The syrup is made with sugar, water, and lemon juice. Baklava can be served plain or topped with whipped cream or ice cream.
This article features two recipes for baklava: a traditional baklava recipe and a rose water baklava recipe. The traditional baklava recipe is made with the classic ingredients of filo dough, chopped nuts, and sweetened syrup. The rose water baklava recipe adds a unique twist to the traditional recipe by infusing the syrup with rose water. Both recipes are sure to please even the most discerning palate.
ROSE WATER AND ORANGE BLOSSOM BAKLAVA
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine the walnuts, cinnamon and sugar in a large bowl and set aside. In the bottom of a greased 9 by 13-inch pan, put 1 layer of phyllo and brush liberally with butter. Repeat 6 more times, buttering each delicate layer, until you have 7 layers of phyllo. Spoon 1/3 of the nut mixture over the phyllo and top with 5 more individually buttered sheets of phyllo. Repeat the process 2 more times and finish with 7 layers of phyllo. Brush the final layer with butter and bake until golden brown, about 50 minutes.
- While the baklava is baking, make syrup. Add all of the syrup ingredients to a medium pot and bring to a boil over medium-low heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove the baklava from the oven and pour the syrup evenly over the top. Cut into squares or diamonds and serve.
TEA GRANITA WITH ROSE WATER AND BAKLAVA
Start making the granita a day ahead for this Middle Eastern dessert.
Categories Tea Dessert Freeze/Chill No-Cook Frozen Dessert Pastry Bon Appétit Kidney Friendly Vegetarian Pescatarian Peanut Free Soy Free Kosher
Yield Makes 4 to 6 servings
Number Of Ingredients 7
Steps:
- Stir 5 cups water, sugar, and rose water in large pitcher until sugar dissolves. Add tea bags, pushing to submerge. Cover with foil; place on sunny windowsill. Let steep until tea is dark, at least 3 hours.
- Remove tea bags and discard. Mix half and half into tea. Pour mixture into 13x9x2-inch glass dish. Freeze until frozen around edges, about 1 hour. Coarsely chop mixture in dish. Freeze until almost solid, about 1 hour longer.
- Working in 2 batches, transfer granita to processor and blend until smooth. Return to same dish and freeze 1 hour. Repeat blending in 2 batches 1 more time. Freeze 1 hour.
- Using tines of fork, scrape granita in dish into flakes. Cover; freeze.
- Do ahead: Can be made 1 day ahead.
- Spoon granita into dishes; sprinkle with rose petals, if desired. Serve granita with baklava.
PISTACHIO BAKLAVA WITH CARDAMOM AND ROSE WATER
Make and share this Pistachio Baklava With Cardamom and Rose Water recipe from Food.com.
Provided by Boo Chef in West Te
Categories Dessert
Time 1h50m
Yield 32 pieces, 32 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- . For the sugar syrup: Combine syrup ingredients, except rosewater, in small saucepan and bring to full boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally to ensure that sugar dissolves. Transfer to 2-cup measuring cup and set aside to cool while making and baking baklava; when syrup is cool, discard peppercorns and stir in rosewater. (Cooled syrup can be refrigerated in airtight container up to 4 days.).
- Nut filling: Pulse pistachios in food processor until very finely chopped, about fifteen 1-second pulses; transfer to bowl. Measure out 1 tablespoon nuts and set aside for garnish. Add ground cardamom, sugar, and salt; toss well to combine.
- To assemble and bake: Brush 13- by 9-inch traditional (not nonstick) baking pan with butter. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Unwrap and unfold phyllo on large cutting board; carefully smooth with hands to flatten. Using baking pan as guide, cut sheets crosswise with chef's knife, yielding two roughly evenly sized stacks of phyllo (one may be narrower than other). Cover with plastic wrap, then damp kitchen towel to prevent drying.
- Place one phyllo sheet (from wider stack) in bottom of baking pan and brush until completely coated with butter. Repeat with 7 more phyllo sheets (from wider stack), brushing each with butter.
- Evenly distribute about 1 cup nuts over phyllo. Cover nuts with phyllo sheet (from narrower stack) and dab with butter (phyllo will slip if butter is brushed on). Repeat with 5 more phyllo sheets (from narrower stack), staggering sheets slightly if necessary to cover nuts, and brushing each with butter. Repeat layering with additional 1 cup nuts, 6 sheets phyllo, and remaining 1 cup nuts. Finish with 8 to 10 sheets phyllo (from wider stack), using nicest and most intact sheets for uppermost layers and brushing each except final sheet with butter. Following illustration 6, use palms of hands to compress layers, working from center outward to press out any air pockets. Spoon 4 tablespoons butter on top layer and brush to cover all surfaces. Following illustration 7, use bread knife or other serrated knife with pointed tip in gentle sawing motion to cut baklava into diamonds, rotating pan as necessary to complete cuts. (Cut on bias into eighths on both diagonals.).
- Bake until golden and crisped, about 1 ½ hours, rotating baking pan halfway through baking. Immediately after removing baklava from oven, pour cooled syrup over cut lines until about 2 tablespoons remain (syrup will sizzle when it hits hot pan); drizzle remaining syrup over surface. Garnish center of each piece with pinch of reserved ground nuts. Cool to room temperature on wire rack, about 3 hours, then cover with foil and let stand at least 8 hours before serving. (Once cooled, baklava can be served, but flavor and texture improve if left to stand at least 8 hours. Baklava can be wrapped tightly in foil and kept at room temperature up to 10 days.).
PISTACHIO BAKLAVA WITH HONEY AND ROSE WATER
This is my contribution to the lunch - a tray of pistachio baklava with an aromatic honey syrup.
Provided by scubatech
Categories Dessert
Time 1h15m
Yield 30 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- In a saucepan, heat the water, sugar, honey and lemon juice until it comes to the boil and cook for a minute. Now add the orange blossom and rose waters, boil for a few seconds, and remove from the heat. Allow to cool before using on the baklava.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- Grind the nuts. We want them to be medium-fine - if they are ground too finely, the resulting filling will be very dense. Combine with the sugar and cinnamon, then add the orange blossom and rose waters and mix well. Set aside.
- In a dish (I used one 21 x 28cm), brush the base with a little melted butter, then add a sheet of filo. Brush with butter, then add another sheet. Brush with butter, and continue until you have six sheets of filo in the dish. Add the filling, and spread out. Be gentle so you don't break the pastry. Now add the rest of the pastry, in each case adding a layer, brushing with melted butter, then adding the next. Finish by brushing the sixth sheet with butter.
- Cut the baklava into pieces - long rectangles, diamonds, squares, or whatever whimsical shapes take your fancy. Do this carefully with a sharp knife and make sure to go all the way through to the base. You might want to leave a border of "scrap" baklava where the pastry is a bit untidy at the edges. This means the final result is neater, and as the cook, you get to enjoy this "angel's share".
- Bake the baklava for 15-20 minutes until crisp and golden. When done, remove from the oven, allow it to sit for a minute, then pour the cooled syrup over the hot baklava. Be sure to get the syrup in between each cut. If you see syrup forming pools in some areas, don't worry - it will all be absorbed.
- Allow the baklava to cool fully before serving. Decorate with chopped pistachios and dried pomegranate seeds(**).
- (*) By this, I mean the lightly aromatic rose water. If you have the much more intense rose extract, then use just a few drops and not a whole tablespoon!
- (**) To dry pomegranate seeds - remove the red seeds from the white pith, and spread on a non-stick baking tray. Leave in the oven at 60°C (140°F) for several hours until the seeds are dry. They will remain slightly sticky but should keep their colour and not turn brown.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 98.6, Fat 5.7, SaturatedFat 1.8, Cholesterol 5.4, Sodium 44.6, Carbohydrate 10.6, Fiber 0.9, Sugar 5.2, Protein 2
ALMOND BAKLAVA WITH ROSé WATER
Categories Nut Dessert Bake Almond Shower Party Phyllo/Puff Pastry Dough Pastry Bon Appétit Kidney Friendly Vegetarian Pescatarian Peanut Free Soy Free Kosher
Yield Makes 12 servings
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- Stir 1 1/3 cups sugar, 1 1/2 cups water, honey, cinnamon sticks, and orange peel in saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat; bring to boil. Remove from heat. Mix in rose water. Chill until cold.
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Brush 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan with some of melted butter. Mix almonds, ground cinnamon, allspice, and 1/3 cup sugar in medium bowl.
- Fold 1 sheet of phyllo in half to form 12x9-inch rectangle. Place folded sheet in prepared pan. Brush with melted butter. Repeat with 4 more folded sheets, brushing top of each folded sheet with butter. Sprinkle half of nut mixture over. Top with 1 folded pastry sheet and brush with butter. Repeat with 4 more folded sheets, brushing top of each with butter. Sprinkle remaining nut mixture over. Repeat with 5 more folded sheets, brushing top of each with butter. Using sharp knife, make 5 diagonal cuts across phyllo, cutting through top layers only and spacing cuts evenly. Repeat in opposite direction to form diamond pattern. Bake until golden brown, about 40 minutes.
- Strain rose syrup. Spoon 1 cup syrup over hot baklava; cover and chill remaining syrup. Recut baklava along lines all the way through layers. Let stand 4 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.) Serve baklava with yogurt and remaining syrup.
- Available at Middle Eastern markets and specialty foods stores.
BAKLAVA WITH CARDAMOM AND ROSE WATER
A traditional Eastern Mediterranean dessert with a Middle Eastern flavor. Note that cook and prep time to not include cooling time. Plan for at least an hour of cooling.
Provided by Da Huz
Categories Dessert
Time 1h35m
Yield 16 pieces, 16 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- Combine 1 cup sugar with 3/4 cup water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Boil for 5 minutes, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Add honey, lemon juice, and rose water, continue simmering 2 minutes, then remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Meanwhile, shell the pistachios if they are not already shelled (you will need 9 oz after shelling). Chop finely (food processor is highly recommended). Combine the chopped nuts with 1 tbsp sugar, the cinnamon, and the cardamom in a bowl and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Trim the filo to lay flat in the bottom of a loaf pan. Melt the butter and brush the sides of the loaf pan with some of the melted butter. Add the first sheet of trimmed filo and brush it with butter. Continue adding sheets of filo and brushing with butter until 10 sheets have been added (brush the top sheet with butter too).
- Add half of the nut mixture and spread evenly on top of the filo.
- Place another sheet of filo on top of the nuts and carefully brush with butter (it will be loose, be careful you don't tear it). Repeat until you have 5 layers on top of the nut mixture.
- Add the rest of the nuts and spread evenly.
- Continue layering more filo and butter until you have about 10 sheets of filo on top of the nuts.
- Cut the baklava into 16 pieces by cutting in half the long way and then cutting into 8ths the short way.
- Bake for 30 minutes, then reduce heat to 300 F and bake another 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, re-cut the baklava, and then pour the sugar syrup on top of the baklava. Do this immediately, do not let the baklava cool before pouring on the syrup.
- Allow the baklava time to cool to room temperature (and to absorb the syrup) before eating. It should cool for at least an hour.
ROSE BAKLAVA
Serve sweet, sticky squares of this cinnamon and almond-filled pastry as a light dessert to end a Greek dinner party or Sunday roast
Provided by Tonia Buxton
Categories Afternoon tea, Dessert, Treat
Time 1h15m
Yield Makes about 16 pieces
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- Put all the ingredients for the syrup in a heavy-based saucepan, and add 400ml cold water. Stir over a gentle heat to dissolve the sugar, then bring to a steady simmer for 10 mins or until it becomes slightly syrupy. Leave to cool.
- Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Lightly brush the sides and base of a 23 x 33cm shallow ovenproof dish with a little of the oil.
- For the baklava, mix together the almonds, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and rosewater.
- Place 1 sheet of filo in the bottom of the dish and brush liberally with oil. (If the filo sheets are very large, cut them all in half before using.) Place another one on top and coat again with oil. Repeat this process of layering and brushing with oil until half of the filo sheets are used up. Now spread on the filling and cover with the remaining filo sheets, layering and oiling as before. Be sure to brush the top sheet with oil too. Score the top to form diamond-shaped slices.
- Bake in the oven for about 30 mins, increasing the heat for the last 5 mins to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 to give the pastry a light golden colour.
- Remove from the oven and immediately pour half the cooled rose syrup over the hot pastry. Leave to rest for at least 30 mins so the syrup can seep through the layers. Serve with big dollops of Greek yogurt and the remaning syrup.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 476 calories, Fat 33 grams fat, SaturatedFat 4 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 34 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 25 grams sugar, Fiber 1 grams fiber, Protein 9 grams protein, Sodium 0.1 milligram of sodium
Tips:
- Use fresh filo dough: Fresh filo dough is more pliable and easier to work with than frozen dough. If you can't find fresh filo dough, you can use frozen dough, but be sure to thaw it completely before using.
- Don't overwork the dough: Overworking the dough will make it tough. Handle the dough gently and work it just enough to get it into the desired shape.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the baklava: A sharp knife will give you clean, even cuts. A dull knife will tear the dough and make the baklava look messy.
- Brush the baklava with butter or oil before baking: This will help the baklava to brown evenly and prevent it from drying out.
- Don't overbake the baklava: Overbaking the baklava will make it dry and crumbly. Bake the baklava until it is golden brown and the syrup is bubbling.
Conclusion:
Baklava is a delicious and versatile dessert that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. It is perfect for special occasions or everyday snacks. With a little practice, you can make baklava at home that is just as good as what you would find at a bakery. So next time you are looking for a sweet treat, give baklava a try.
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