Are you looking for a unique and delectable dessert that combines the flavors of the Orient and the Mediterranean? Look no further than baklava orange-pomegranate with honey syrup. This divine pastry, often associated with celebrations and special occasions, is a masterpiece of culinary art that will tantalize your taste buds and transport you to a world of exquisite flavors and textures. Prepare to embark on a culinary journey as we delve into the secrets of creating this extraordinary dessert, exploring the perfect balance of crispy layers of filo dough, the sweet and tangy filling of chopped nuts, oranges, and pomegranates, and the luscious honey syrup that crowns it all.
Let's cook with our recipes!
BAKLAVA WITH LEMON-HONEY SYRUP
Flaky, sticky, and sweet, this delectable baklava from baker Umber Ahmad of Mah-Ze-Dahr is studded with cloves to anchor the pastry layers and infuse them with warm flavor. Lemon is mixed into the traditional honey syrup for a deliciously fresh twist.
Provided by Martha Stewart
Categories Food & Cooking Dessert & Treats Recipes
Time 1h50m
Yield Makes about 30
Number Of Ingredients 14
Steps:
- Syrup: In a small saucepan, stir together sugar, honey, 3/4 cup water, zest and juice, corn syrup, and cinnamon sticks. Heat over medium-high, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high, bring to a boil, and cook, without stirring, until syrup thickens slightly and registers 230 degrees on a candy thermometer. Let cool completely; discard zest and cinnamon sticks. (You should have about 1 1/2 cups.) Syrup can be made up to 1 day ahead and stored at room temperature.
- Filling: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a food processor, finely grind all nuts. Add sugar, cinnamon, and salt; pulse just to combine. Transfer to a bowl.
- Brush a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with butter. Trim phyllo sheets to just fit inside baking dish(each about 8 1/2 by 12 1/2 inches). Lay phyllo flat on a work surface; cover with a damp kitchen towel to prevent drying out. Place a sheet in prepared dish; brush generously with melted butter. Repeat with 6 more phyllo sheets, brushing each with butter before laying down next. Spread 1 cup filling evenly over top, then top with 5 more phyllo sheets, buttering each layer. Spread 1 cup fillingover top, followed by 5 morebuttered phyllo sheets. Spreadremaining filling over phyllo; finishwith 7 buttered phyllo sheets.
- Using a long, sharp knife, cut lengthwise all the way through layers at 2-inch intervals. Makediagonal cuts across strips to form 2-inch diamonds, again cutting all the way through layers. Pierce each diamond with a whole clove.
- Using your fingers, lightly sprinkle top of pastry with cold water (to prevent curling). Bake, rotating dish once, until baklava is deep golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven and recut through all lines. Pour syrup over top, saturating fully; let cool at least 4 hours beforeserving. Baklava can be covered with plastic wrap and stored at room temperature up to 1 week.
BAKLAVA WITH HONEY SYRUP
Baklava is a sweet, buttery Greek treat. The honey syrup drizzled on top gives this classic dessert a delicious twist. -Trisha Kruse, Eagle, Idaho
Provided by Taste of Home
Categories Desserts
Time 1h25m
Yield 2-1/2 dozen.
Number Of Ingredients 9
Steps:
- Coat a 13x9-in. baking pan with cooking spray. Unroll phyllo dough; trim to fit into pan., Layer two sheets of phyllo dough in prepared pan, spritz with cooking spray. Repeat three times. (Keep remaining phyllo covered with a damp towel to prevent it from drying out.) Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons nuts. Top with two sheets of phyllo and spritz with cooking spray. Repeat layering with nuts, phyllo and cooking spray 10 times. Top with remaining phyllo dough, spritzing every other sheet with cooking spray., Using a sharp knife, cut into 30 triangles. Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine syrup ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour over warm baklava. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cover and let stand for several hours or overnight.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 136 calories, Fat 7g fat (0 saturated fat), Cholesterol 0 cholesterol, Sodium 67mg sodium, Carbohydrate 18g carbohydrate (9g sugars, Fiber 1g fiber), Protein 3g protein.
BAKLAVA RECIPE- HOW TO MAKE BAKLAVA
My family's secret baklava recipe combines layers of honey-soaked crisp phyllo pastry and a cinnamon-scented nut mixture with pistachios, walnuts, and hazelnut. Baklava is the perfect make-ahead dessert because it's even better the next day! Be sure to read through for tips and watch the video to make it.
Provided by Suzy Karadsheh
Categories Dessert
Time 1h10m
Number Of Ingredients 14
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place the sugar and water in a saucepan and heat stove-top, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Add the honey, orange extract if using, and whole cloves; stir to mix. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and let simmer for about 25 minutes. Remove syrup from heat and let cool to lukewarm. Add lemon juice. Remove the whole cloves.
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade, add the pistachios, walnut, and hazelnuts. Pulse a few times to chop. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and add sugar, cinnamon, and ground cloves. Mix well to combine.
- Unroll the thawed phyllo pastry and place the sheets in between two clean kitchen towels. This will help keep the phyllo from breaking while you work.
- Prepare a 9"x 13"x 2" baking pan. Brush the interior of the baking pan with some of the melted butter. To assemble the baklava, take one sheet of phyllo and place it in the pan (for this size pan, I typically fold my phyllo sheet in half, and it fits perfectly. You can also do a bit of trimming using a pair of kitchen shears). Brush the top of the phyllo sheet with the melted butter.
- Repeat this process a few more times until you have used up about 1/3 of the phyllo pastry, each layer being brushed with the melted butter.
- Now, distribute about ½ of the nut mixture evenly over the top layer of phyllo.
- Continue assembling the baklava, one sheet of phyllo pastry at a time using another 1/3 of the phyllo. Again, brush each layer with a bit of the melted butter.
- Distribute the remaining ½ of the nut mixture evenly over the top layer of phyllo.
- Finish the remaining 1/3 of the phyllo pastry following the same process, laying one folded sheet at a time and brushing each layer with melted butter. Brush the very top sheet of phyllo with butter.
- Using a sharp knife, cut the pastry into 24 diamond shaped pieces (you can get up to 36 smaller pieces). (Review the tutorial above to see how I cut baklava).
- Place the baking dish on the middle rack of your heated oven. Bake anywhere from 35 to 45 minutes or until the top of the baklava turns golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. (IMPORTANT...Because ovens vary, be sure to check your baklava half-way through baking).
- As soon as you remove the baklava from the oven, pour the cooled syrup all over the hot baklava.
- Allow baklava to sit for a few hours before serving or for at least 1 hour. Cut through the earlier marked pieces. Serve with a garnish of chopped pistachios, if you like.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 229 calories, Sugar 14.2 g, Sodium 93.6 mg, Fat 14.5 g, SaturatedFat 4.5 g, TransFat 0 g, Carbohydrate 23.7 g, Fiber 1.9 g, Protein 3.4 g, Cholesterol 15.3 mg
ORANGE-PECAN BAKLAVA
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Chop the pecans and walnuts in a food processor until coarsely ground. Add the Sweet Wintery Spice Blend and pulse to combine.
- Using a pastry brush, brush the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with some melted butter. Add 2 sheets of phyllo, then brush with more butter. Continue in this manner until you have stacked 10 sheets of phyllo. Cover with a quarter of the nut mixture.
- Add 5 sheets of phyllo, brushing with butter after the second and the fourth sheets. After the fifth sheet, add another quarter of the nut mixture. Repeat adding 5 sheets and a quarter of the nut mixture two more times.
- Top with the remaining phyllo sheets, brushing with butter every 2 sheets. Brush extra butter on the top. Cut diagonal strips about 1 inch apart. Cut another row of diagonal strips in the opposite direction.
- Bake until golden and crispy, 75 to 90 minutes. Check for doneness after 1 hour by lifting the top layers of phyllo from the center to reveal the nut mixture--the phyllo should look dry-ish and crisp.
- As soon as the baklava comes out of the oven, pour the Orange-Honey Syrup over the top. Let sit for at least 5 hours to allow the syrup to soak in.
- Cut the baklava into diamonds. It will keep for 5 days covered with plastic wrap.
- Mix together the sugar, cinnamon, allspice, cardamom and cloves in a small bowl until well combined. Store in a small, airtight container.
- Add the honey, sugar, cinnamon sticks, orange zest and 2 cups water to a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until thickened slightly, 12 to 15 minutes. Add the orange juice and vanilla extract; cook another 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
WALNUT-AND-HONEY BAKLAVA
The many buttered layers of phyllo dough, walnut filling, and sweet syrup make baklava the ultimate special-occasion dessert in Greece.
Provided by Martha Stewart
Categories Food & Cooking Healthy Recipes Vegetarian Recipes
Yield Makes one 12-inch baklava
Number Of Ingredients 6
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a food processor, pulse walnuts, cinnamon, and 1/2 cup sugar until finely ground.
- In a medium saucepan, heat 1 cup water and remaining 1 1/4 cups sugar over medium-high; bring to a boil. Immediately reduce to a simmer; cook until slightly thickened and sugar is dissolved, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in honey. Let syrup cool completely.
- Brush a 12-by-2-inch round cake pan with butter. Trim each phyllo sheet into a 13-inch round (cover with plastic and a damp towel as you work). Carefully layer 7 phyllo sheets in pan, brushing butter between each layer. Sprinkle one-third of nut mixture over top. Repeat process twice more, brushing butter between each layer. Top with remaining 7 phyllo sheets, brushing butter between each layer.
- Generously brush top layer with butter. Using a sharp knife with a very thin blade (such as a boning knife), cut baklava into quarters, cutting through all phyllo layers. Halve each quarter to create 8 equal wedges. Working within one wedge at a time, make two straight cuts, 1 inch apart, parallel to one side of wedge. Make two more cuts, parallel to opposite side of same wedge, creating a diamond pattern. Repeat process in remaining 7 wedges.
- Bake until deep golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven; pour syrup over baklava. Let cool completely before serving.
BAKLAVA - ORANGE/POMEGRANATE HONEY SYRUP
Don't let the complex instruction fool you... it IS simple, it's just hard to find detailed directions. It's really not a "science" like baking and pastry is, so fee free to play around a little! The important part is that you have everything prepared before you start to assemble with the dough, it can be finicky, but totally do-able! My mother in law is a purist and makes Baklava with only walnuts, sugar, and Karo syrup (and dough of course!). I wanted to experiment with a more complex palate and this is what I came up with! From researching recipes, it looks like Baklava is holy to some people: "ONLY butter!", "ONLY rosewater!", "ONLY walnuts/pistachios/etc.!" - Ummm... calm down. It's ONLY a dessert! This is a recipe that I made by combining what looked best to me and what felt right at the time. It came out WONDERFULLY so I wanted to let you know what I did...
Provided by BekaWild
Categories Breakfast
Time 2h
Yield 48 peices, 24 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 17
Steps:
- SYRUP: On Med-High heat add Sugar, 1/4 Cup of Water, Pomegranate syrup, orange juice, zest, and cinnamon stick in to a high sided sauce pan. Dissolve sugar and bring to light boil.
- Immediately add Honey and reduce to simmer (on low, or low-medium) for 10-20min. It will bubble up, but keep an eye on it. It should not get out of control if the fire isn't too high. Better a lower heat than a higher heat.
- Remove from heat, as in turn burner off and remove from burner too.
- Drip a few drops of syrup on counter/plate as it cooks and after it is removed from the heat. If it hardens when it cools (think REALLY sticky caramel), add reserved water until drops tests shows syrup can cool and be easily spread on the plate. Do NOT return to the heat before you add water!
- If the syrup then gets too watery, put it back and the stove until it's right!
- Strain into bowl - set aside to cool before pouring onto hot baklava.
- Note: By using honey you get the best flavor, but also the added benefit of stabilization - this syrup is hard to mess up unless you burn it! If you own a candy thermometer, try to keep it under the "thead" stage, or 230F - if you go over, thin it out with water AFTER you remove it from the heat.
- BUTTER: Clarify butter over low to med-low heat until all water has boiled away.
- Remove from heat and skim off milk solids. Set aside.
- You may "brown" butter slightly for added flavor (I do).
- Melt shortening if you run out of butter towards the end of the assembly process. The point is to dry the butter out (because it is 8% water), but shortening has far less to start - it won't kill anything to use butter flavored shorting either, it's a matter of opinion. Remember: Butter = better flavor. Shortening = better texture.
- FILLING: Pulse all Filling ingredients in food processor until largest pieces are no bigger than a pea - but not until all is powder.
- ASSEMBLY: Heat oven to 400°F.
- Prepare your pan (9x13 is great) with either parchment paper and/ butter or spray.
- Unwrap Phyllo and cut to the size of your pan (this makes it WAY easier!).
- Layer 10 sheets of Phyllo in this order: Butter, Phyllo, butter, Phyllo, butter, etc.
- Add 1/3 of nuts, another 6 layers of Phyllo then butter.
- Add 1/3 of nuts, another 6 layers of Phyllo then butter.
- Add 1/3 of nuts, then the last 8 layers of layers of Phyllo then remaining butter.
- I like to spoon on the butter first and then spread it with the brush, always working from the inside out. If a sheet breaks, just patch it up. If the Phyllo is too small, overlap another piece to form one layer - no stress!
- Cut baklava into pieces using a slim, sharp, smooth edged knife (e.g. boning or paring knife).
- In my 9"x13" I get 48 pieces by cutting the pan in 4 pieces lengthwise, then 6 pieces widthwise, then each square diagonally. Make sure to cut with a pulling motion in order to cut smoothly (no STABBING), this may mean stopping to turn the pan around.
- Bake in 400F degree oven for 15min, reduce heat to 300F and bake for another 40-55min, checking to make sure it only turns a pale brown.
- IMMEDIATELY after removing baklava from oven - while baklava is hot- ladle the syrup over the top. It will sputter but that is a good thing. Make sure to get in between all of the crevices and cuts.
- Let Baklava cool at least until room temperature before serving. Better yet, after it is room temperature (2-3 hours) cover it (yes, cover) and let it sit until you can't wait any longer (at least 8hrs)... serve!
- Store in air tight (yes, covered) container for up to 5 days. Some people think that covering it will make it go soggy. The truth is that air carries moisture and the longer something sits out in the air, the more moisture it attracts - especially SWEETS because sugar and honey absorbed tons of moisture. The less air is sees, the better - until service that is!
BAKLAVA WITH HONEY SYRUP
One of several recipes featured as a dish to be served for a Greek-style meal, in the November issue of the Australian magazine 'Super Food Ideas', and posted for the 2005 Zaar World Tour. The preparation and cooking times do not include the 30 minutes standing time, to allow the syrup to be fully absorbed by the baklava.
Provided by bluemoon downunder
Categories Dessert
Time 50m
Yield 8 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F, and lightly grease a shallow baking tray.
- Place the sesame seeds in a small, non-stick pan over a medium heat, and cook, while shaking the pan gently, for 3-5 minutes or until golden and toasted.
- Transfer to a bowl, add the walnuts and cinnamon and mix well.
- Brush 1 pastry sheet with the melted butter and fold in half crossways to form a rectangle.
- Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the walnut mixture evenly over the pastry; and starting from one of the long ends, roll it up into a log. Brush with butter. Place on a baking tray; and repeat with the remaining pastry, butter and walnut mixture.
- Bake the baklava for 10-12 minutes or until golden; and then allow them to cool on the baking tray.
- The Honey Syrup: Peel 1 large strip of rind from the lemon, remove the pith, juice half the lemon; then place the lemon rind, lemon juice, sugar, honey, cinnamon stick, cloves and 2 cups of water in a saucepan over a medium heat.
- Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved; increase the heat to high and bring to the boil; reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 10 minutes or until the honey syrup thickens slightly.
- Pour the hot honey syrup over the cold baklava, and stand for 30 minutes or until the baklava has absorbed the syrup. Cut each baklava diagonally into 3 pieces and serve.
- Tip: Purchase phyllo pastry from the fridge not the freezer, as the layers will separate much more easily.
Tips for Perfect Baklava:
- Use fresh, high-quality ingredients for the best flavor.
- Make sure the phyllo dough is at room temperature before using it. This will make it easier to work with and less likely to tear.
- Brush each layer of phyllo dough with melted butter or ghee. This will help to create a crispy, flaky texture.
- Don't overfill the baklava with nuts. The filling should be evenly distributed throughout the pastry.
- Bake the baklava until it is golden brown and the syrup is bubbling.
- Let the baklava cool completely before cutting it into pieces. This will help to prevent the syrup from running out.
Conclusion:
Baklava is a delicious and festive dessert that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. With its layers of crispy phyllo dough, sweet nut filling, and rich syrup, it is sure to be a hit at any party or gathering. By following the tips above, you can make perfect baklava every time. So, what are you waiting for? Give this classic dessert a try today!
Are you curently on diet or you just want to control your food's nutritions, ingredients? We will help you find recipes by cooking method, nutrition, ingredients...
Check it out »
You'll also love