Homemade Baklava

Recipe

Preparation45 minutes
Cook time45 minutes
ServingsServes 10 to 12
Episode1030
1,157,324

Ingredients

  • 1 16oz Package of Phyllo Dough
  • 3 Sticks of Butter
  • For the Filling:
  • 4 cups of Chopped Walnuts
  • 1/2 cup of Granulated Sugar
  • 4 Tbsp of Melted Butter
  • 1-1/2 tsp of Cinnamon
  • Zest of One Lemon
  • Zest of One Orange
  • 1/4 tsp of Salt
  • For the Syrup:
  • 1/2 cup of Granulated Sugar
  • 3/4 cup of Honey
  • 1 Cup of Water
  • 2 tsp of Vanilla Extract
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon

Preparation

    1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

    2) In a food processor, add the nuts and pulse until finely chopped, add them to a large bowl and to them, add the sugar, lemon zest, orange zest, butter, cinnamon and salt, mix well to combine and set aside.

    3) In a small saucepan, add the 3 sticks of butter (1-1/2 cups) melt the butter over medium-low heat and remove from the heat to cool slightly.

    4) Unwrap the phyllo dough, trim it to fit a 9x13” baking pan and while you work with the pastry, make sure you always keep it covered with a damp kitchen towel so it doesn’t dry out.

    5) Brush some of the butter on the bottom of the baking pan, then lay one piece of phyllo in the bottom, brush some butter evenly over the whole surface of the phyllo and follow that with another piece of phyllo. Keep buttering each piece and layering a total of 8 pieces of phyllo on top of each other, sprinkle over about 3/4 of a cup of the nut mixture and then layer 6 pieces of phyllo (with butter in between) on top of the first layer.

    6) Keep layering and here is the layer breakdown:
    8 pieces of buttered phyllo, 3/4 cup of filling
    6 pieces of buttered phyllo, 3/4 cup of filling
    6 pieces of buttered phyllo, 3/4 cup of filling
    6 pieces of buttered phyllo, 3/4 cup of filling
    6 pieces of buttered phyllo, 3/4 cup of filling
    8 pieces of buttered phyllo as the very top layer.

    7) Brush the very top with some butter, then using a sharp knife, cut the baklava into squares or a diamond pattern (check video for clear instructions) bake the baklava for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown on top.

    8) Meanwhile, while the Baklava bakes, make the syrup. Simply add the water, honey, sugar, vanilla and lemon juice in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool.

    9) When the baklava comes out of the oven, immediately pour over the honey syrup, allow it to come to room temperature then lightly cover it with a kitchen towel and allow it to sit for about 6 hours or overnight before serving.


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