Its only been recently that I’ve discovered how versatile and easy to make Baklava is. For some reason the thought of that honey syrup and fill pastry made me think it would all go terribly wrong. Whenever I see any form of Baklava I have to remind myself that it doesn’t taste like it looks. AM I the only person to think it looks like a mince beef pie?
This sweet treat was the most obvious for me to make – Sadly, I have never taken to Turkish Delight even though I have really tried!
My Pecan & Almond Baklava is quite a traditional version of Baklava but I urge you to have a go at playing around with other alternatives:
-
- Shredded Sweetened Coconut
- Finely chopped Apricots
- Finely Chopped Glace Cherries
- Pistachio nuts
- Raisins/Sultanas
- Even a thin layer of Nutella
- Different types of flavoured honey – I use runny honey, try the Orange Blossom version. Yum!
PECAN & ALMOND BAKLAVA
| Serves | 10+ |
| Prep time | 1 hour |
| Cook time | 40 minutes |
| Total time | 1 hour, 40 minutes |
| Meal type | Dessert, Snack |
| Misc | Child Friendly, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold |
| Region | Turkish |
INGREDIENTS
- 1 packet Filo Pastry (Chilled)
- 220g Caster Sugar
- 125g Runny Honey (I used Orange Blossom on this occasion)
- 1 Lemon – Juice & Zest of
- 1 Orange – Zest
- 200g Pecan Nuts (Chopped into tiny chunks but not blitzed in a food processor)
- 100g Sliced Almonds
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 125g Melted Butter
DIRECTIONS
| Baklava | |
| 1. | |
| Preheat the oven to 170C and brush a silicone dish with melted butter – Including up the sides. I use a 9″ square | |
| 2. | |
| In a mixing bowl, combine the nuts, vanilla and cinnamon | |
| 3. | |
| Remove half of the filo pastry from the fridge and cover the other half with a dampened clean tea towel. You need to work quickly with filo or it will start to dry up and go crispy. If you think you might work too slow take less pastry out at a time. | |
| 4. | |
| Lay one layer of filo pastry in the base of the silicone – You can chop off around the edges but I leave it and fold it in later. Brush on top of this later with more melted butter, making sure it is all well covered. | |
| 5. | |
| Add another layer of pastry and repeat. At this point you can start folding in the extra bits of pastry from around the edges. Repeat until you have 6 layers of pastry. | |
| 6. | |
| Sprinkle half of the nut mixture evenly on top of the layers of pastry – You will start to think that there will be too much to fill the height of the dish but don’t worry, the weight will flatten it down. | |
| 7. | |
| Brush another layer of pastry and place buttered side down on top of the nuts. Brush on top of this layer with more melted butter and keep adding more layers until you have another 6 layers of pastry | |
| 8. | |
| Use the rest of the nut mixture to spread on top of these pastry layers and finish with a last 6 layers of pastry. | |
| 9. | |
| Place in the fridge to set for 20-30 minutes | |
| 10. | |
| Once removed from the fridge, cut into 2cm squares – I do it on the diagonal as it seems to keep neater but its up to you. | |
| 11. | |
| Bake for 30 minutes then increase the heat to 180C and heat for another 5-10 minutes until it is the shade of golden that you are looking for | |
| Honey Syrup | |
| 12. | |
| While the Baklava is cooking, make a start on the syrup – In a small pan heat the sugar, honey and lemon juice and zests. Bring to the boil for 1-2 minutes then reduce the heat to simmer for another 3 minutes. | |
| 13. | |
| Remove from the heat – it will thicken by itself. When the Baklava comes out of the oven, spoon the syrup over it evenly – If the syrup has thickened a little too much then just heat again slightly. | |
| 14. | |
| Leave to cool at room temperature – Best eaten same day or at least by the next day | |
Oh these look delicious well done you xxx
Those look absolutely delicious – fab flavour combinations #Tefalgiveaway
#Tefalgiveaway
aw yum looks delcious #Tefalgiveaway
These look and sound amazing 🙂 #Tefalgiveaway
I do like baklava and recently bought some in London’s Borough Market. Yours looks incredibly delicious. #Tefalgiveaway
These look delicious -might have to give them a go! #Tefalgiveaway
These look sooooooooooo DELICIOUS !! And I know they also are delicious 🙂 Baklava is a super popular treat here
These look amazing, thanks for sharing the recipe, I’ll have to try them out. #serenata
#Tefalgiveaway. As a lover of nuts and honey I had my first attempt at Baclava for a family meal last weekend. It didn’t look the most attractive but it certainly tasted good.I suppose I cheated by using ready prepared pastry but with grandchildren racing around and so far better things to do than stay in the kitchen I felt justified. I will certainly be making again because it disappeared too rapidly for me to hide any!
#Tefalgiveaway. This would be my perfect treat because I love all ingredients used. Would be wonderful to serve during my party.
looks fab #Tefalgiveaway
They look yummy! #Tefalgiveaway
I love them, a bit sweet but one or two us enough with a nice mint tea. #TefalGiveaway
have only just stumbled across baklava went to greece on holiday last year needless to say i ate mountains of it!!!! will deff give this recipe a go x. #TefalGiveaway
These look lovely #Tefalgiveaway