Alan’s Baklava

 

Ingredients

Phyllo Sheets

1 C Pistachios

1 C Pecans

1 C Almonds

2 tea Ground Cinnamon

½ tea Ground Cloves

¼ tea salt

3 tea Orange Zest

Melted Unsalted Butter

 

1 C Water

1 C Sugar

¼ C Honey

1 tea Vanilla

1 Cinnamon Stick

½ tea Orange Extract

Pistachios for Garnish

 

Instructions

In a food processor, add in the almonds, pecans, pistachios, orange zest, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Pulse until the mixture is just roughly chopped. You do not want them to be fine as they will not have the right consistency for the baklava.  Set aside.

Grab your phyllo dough and a medium baking dish (ours was 10×8″).  Place the phyllo dough on a clean work surface, place a baking dish on top making sure not to press down hard enough to compact the phyllo.  Use a sharp knife to trim the phyllo to the size of the pan - bigger than smaller as once it bakes you won’t be able to tell.

Cover the phyllo with a slightly damp tea towel to keep it from drying out. Set aside.

Brush the bottom and sides of the baking dish with a thin layer of melted butter.  

Place two sheets of phyllo and brush with butter.  Repeat the layering, buttering every 2 sheets of phyllo until you have a base of 8 sheets.

Add 1/4 of the ground nut mixture to the pan and spread it out evenly to the edges of the pan.

 Place 4 more sheets of phyllo, buttering them every two layers, and then add on another 1/4 of ground nut mixture. Repeat two more times. 

Add the final 6 sheets of phyllo, brushing them with butter every two layers evenly drizzling any remaining melted butter over the top.

Place the baking dish into the refrigerator for 1 hour so that the butter can set. 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. 

Remove the pan from the refrigerator and using a very sharp knife, cut the uncooked baklava four times lengthwise (into long rectangles). Then, cut across diagonally to create diamond shapes.

Bake the baklava for 40 - 45 minutes or until golden brown and the edges of the phyllo is flaky.

While the baklava bakes, prepare the syrup. Combine all of the syrup ingredients except for the vanilla extract in a small pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil and simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until it has thickened but still the consistency of syrup. Set it aside to cool. Once cooled, mix the vanilla in. 

Remove the baklava from the oven, set it on a heat-proof surface and drizzle the cooled syrup evenly over the baked baklava while it is still hot (this is key!). 

Top the baklava with crushed pistachios and allow it to sit at room temperature for several hours or overnight before serving.