Baklava

Records of this ancient Greek pastry date back to 300 BC. Today it is still a most beloved sweet treat throughout many Mediterranean countries and beyond.

The nutritional benefits from nuts and honey, along with low-calorie filo dough make this a very healthy dessert that is surprisingly easy to put together. The best filo dough for this recipe can be found at BM and should be paper-thin from the Filo Factory brand, white or whole wheat kinds work great.

Ingredients

For a 9X13 baking pan and approximately 20 portions

• 16oz filo dough
• 500 grams of nuts of your choice (walnuts, almonds, shelled pistachios, hazelnuts, pecans)
• 1/4 cup of ground pistachios or other nut for garnish
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch of ground cloves
• 1 and 1/2 to 2 sticks of unsalted butter, melted (vegan option: use coconut oil)

For honey syrup

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup of cold water
• 1 cup of honey (vegan option: agave nectar)
• 1 inch strip orange or lime peel
• 5 whole cloves
• 1 stick of cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons of lime juice

Instructions

1. Make syrup by melting sugar in water under low heat and adding the peel, cloves, cinnamon and simmer for 20 minutes until fragrant. Add lime juice and simmer for 5 more minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. Place nuts in food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Mix with sugar, powdered cinnamon, powdered cloves and set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 350F degrees (or 175C).
4. Generously butter the 9X13 baking pan.
5. Assemble the baklava by brushing melted butter between each layer of filo and layering one third of sheets onto bottom of pan (each filo sheet folded in half should fit perfectly inside the pan). Cover with 1/2 mixture of nuts and repeat layering the next third of filo sheets brushing melted butter between each layer. Cover with final 1/2 of the nut mixture and finish the filo and brush melted butter in between layers until there are none left.
6. Cut diamond shapes with a sharp knife before baking just like in photo. The knife doesn’t need to go all the way to bottom.
7. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until golden on top and a toothpick comes out clean.
8. Once cooked it is very important to slowly pour the syrup on top immediately while cake is hot (you should hear a delightful crackling sound). Sprinkle the tops with the ground pistachios or any other garnish of your choice.
9. The baklava should sit for a while before serving. It has a long shelf life and can even be frozen.