Having blown through cookies, cheesecake, and brownies influenced by Profe, I needed something fresh and new to bake. Looking for inspiration, I pensively stroked Profe's fur, and admired the warm golden glow of his coat between his dark spots and stripes, laughing silently and lovingly at his ludicrous and almost maniacal expression. Suddenly, the idea came to me from his layers, color, and the mischievous shape of his eyes in that moment: baklava.
Hailing from the former Ottoman empire, and keeping with our South Asian theme, baklava is a dessert with an interesting texture that I think is partly an acquired taste. To illustrate this point, allow me to provide you with a conversation that took place ten minutes ago:
"Would you like some Baklava?!" I ask my brother as he walks in the front door.
"Is it good?" he asks.
"Try it for yourself. My taste buds are not your taste buds."
"I'll take this small piece-- I'm normally not such a huge fan of Baklava," he says as he reluctantly cuts one of the smaller pieces away from the baking dish. "It's actually pretty good," he says after several moments pass. "I like it more than I normally like Baklava."
To some extent I agree with him: baklava is incredibly rich, but on top of that it's made of flaky crust has a syrupy sauce that sinks to the bottom. I've had some horrendous baklava during my twenty-three years of life. It can be papery or soggy and overly sweet. Also, if chopped nuts as a texture bother you, then steer clear of this recipe.
That being said, baklava can be a wonderful dessert when prepared carefully and eaten by an enthusiastic audience. I'd never made anything with phyllo dough until last night and the prospect made me nervous, but I needed something that would keep without refrigeration, so that I could travel to school and share the dessert. I searched the internet for a recipe infused with spice and came up with this gem.
Ingredients
For the filling:
1 (5-inch piece) cinnamon stick, broken into 2 to 3 pieces or 2 teaspoons ground
15 to 20 whole allspice berries
6 ounces blanched almonds
6 ounces raw or roasted walnuts
6 ounces raw or roasted pistachio
2/3 cup sugar
(I left this out)
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon rose water
(I left this out)
1 pound phyllo dough, thawed
(You will not need the whole pound)
8 ounces clarified unsalted butter, melted
For the syrup:
1 1/4 cups honey
1 1/4 cups water
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 (2-inch) piece fresh orange peel
(I used almost an entire orange peel and ended up using only half the syrup over the dessert)
Directions
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the cinnamon stick and whole allspice into a spice grinder and grind.
Place the almonds, walnuts, pistachios, sugar and freshly ground spices into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped, but not pasty or powdery, approximately 15 quick pulses. Set aside.
Combine the water and rose water in a small spritz bottle and set aside.
Trim the sheets of phyllo to fit the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch metal pan. Brush the bottom and sides of the pan with butter; lay down a sheet of phyllo and brush with butter. Repeat this step 9 more times for a total of 10 sheets of phyllo. Top with 1/3 of the nut mixture and spread thinly. Spritz thoroughly with the rose water. Layer 6 more sheets of phyllo with butter in between each of them, followed by another third of the nuts and spritz with rose water. Repeat with another 6 sheets of phyllo, butter, remaining nuts, and rose water. Top with 8 sheets of phyllo brushing with butter in between each sheet. Brush the top generously with butter. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and cut into 28 squares. Return pan to the oven and continue to bake for another 30 minutes. Remove pan from the oven, place on a cooling rack, and cool for 2 hours before adding the syrup.
Make the syrup during the last 30 minutes of cooling. Combine the honey, water, sugar, cinnamon stick and orange peel in a 4-quart saucepan and set over high heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Once boiling, boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and discard the orange peel and cinnamon stick.
After the baklava has cooled for 2 hours, re-cut the entire pan following the same lines as before. Pour the hot syrup evenly over the top of the baklava, allowing it to run into the cuts and around the edges of the pan. Allow the pan to sit, uncovered until completely cool. Cover and store at room temperature for at least 8 hours and up to overnight before serving. Store, covered, at room temperature for up to 5 days.
