Mrs. Z’s Secret-Ingredient Baklava
Description
This recipe by cookbookchick is from Food52’s “Your Best Recipe with Walnuts” Contest.
Ingredients
Syrup
- 1/2 cup honey, mild-tasting
- 1 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 1/2 cup water
- 1 stick cinnamon
- Juice from 1/2 a lemon
Baklava
- 1 cup graham crackers, finely crushed (the secret ingredient!)
- 1 1/2 pound California walnuts
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
- 1 pound butter, melted, clarified (skim off the milk solids and don’t use the stuff in the bottom of the pan)
- 1 pound phyllo dough
- Cloves, whole
PREPARATION
- Combine all the syrup ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for 10 to 20 minutes until a thin syrup is formed — no longer. Allow to cool to room temperature while you build the baklava.
- Heat the oven to 350°F.
- Crush graham crackers into fine crumbs by putting them in a locked plastic bag and pounding them with a meat tenderizer, rolling with a rolling pin, or blitzing in a food processor — whichever works best for you.
- Grind the nuts finely with a manual nut grinder (best) or in a food processor (taking care not to go too far, or you will have nut butter).
- In a bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, nuts, sugar, and cinnamon.
- Lay out the phyllo dough on a clean kitchen towel. Lay another towel on top of the phyllo to help prevent it from drying out.
- In a roasting-type pan as close as possible to the size of the phyllo (the Food52 test kitchen used an 8 x 8-inch square), begin building the baklava. Layer 6 to 8 sheets of phyllo in the bottom of the pan, brushing each sheet lightly with butter before adding the next. I use a silicone brush to do this. (Many Greek cooks I’ve watched, including my mother–the aforementioned Mrs. Z.–simply drizzle the butter from a teaspoon. So don’t worry if you don’t have a pastry brush.)
- Sprinkle the nut mixture in a thin layer over the filo dough. Cover with 3 to 4 more sheets, each brushed lightly with butter. Repeat until nut mixture is completely used up. Cover with 6 to 8 phyllo, brushing each layer lightly with butter. (No one has claimed this is a diet dessert!)
- Refrigerate the uncooked baklava for an hour or two until the butter solidifies. Then, cut with a sharp knife (before baking!) into small squares or diamond shapes. If you want the traditional diamond shapes, start with a corner-to-corner diagonal cut. Stick a whole clove into the center of each piece.
- Bake at 350°F for no longer than one hour. If the baklava dries out, it is ruined. It should get very lightly golden brown.
- As soon as you take it out of the oven, pour the room temperature syrup evenly over the hot pastry. The rule is hot pastry, cool syrup–or you’ll get a soggy dessert! Start with about half of the syrup, letting the pastry absorb it–you may not use it all. I like to serve baklava on a platter, each piece nestled in a pretty paper or foil cupcake cup.
NUTRITION
- Calories: 490 cal
- Total Fat: 36 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 14 g
- Cholesterol: 40 mg
- Sodium: 110 mg
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Dietary Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 6 g