Baklava honey, recipes with photos, video
Sweet tender layered baklava flowing with honey is one of the most popular oriental sweets. Although the Ottoman Empire is considered its homeland, many other peoples have their own baklava recipes. The most popular, besides Turkish, are Greek, Arabic and various South Asian recipes.
Most Russian-speaking baklava fans are familiar with the Georgian and Greek versions of this famous dessert. Both recipes imply that thin sheets of filo dough or puff pastry are soaked in flowing, fragrant honey. The main difference between traditional Turkish baklava is that it is sweetened with sorbet, a sweet syrup made from water, sugar and lemon juice. That is why Turkish-style baklava turns out to be crispy, light and airy, while in Greek it is juicy, rich, and solid. In addition to sweet sugar or honey syrup and puff pastry, baklava contains various crushed nuts. These can be pistachios and hazelnuts, walnuts or almonds. Baklava is cut into squares, triangles and slices, cooked by wrapping in large rolls or small tubes.
In traditional Greek baklava, there must be 33 layers of dough, according to the number of years lived by Jesus Christ. This delicacy in Greece is a must-have for Christmas and Easter tables.
In Albania, egg yolks are put in the filling for baklava; Persian baklava is made from chopped almonds and pistachios seasoned with cardamom and rose water. In Azerbaijan, each baklava diamond is necessarily decorated with a piece of almond or walnut. In Georgia, vanilla is put in baklava, in Israel – cinnamon and orange or lemon zest, in Armenia – ground cloves and also cinnamon. There are even many national variations of this dish, and there are still regional ones, and many housewives in different countries of the world have their own version based on family traditions and grandmother’s secrets. If you add author’s recipes to this, it turns out that you can create a whole book from baklava recipes and it will contain at least a hundred pages decorated with magnificent photos.
Honey baklava recipe with almonds and walnuts
This is a Greek style baklava recipe with syrup flavored with various spices. You will need: – 500 g unsalted butter; – 500 g of filo dough; – 1 and 1/2 kg of chopped peeled almonds; – 500 g of shelled walnuts; – 2/3 cups of granulated sugar; – 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon; – 1 teaspoon allspice powder.
For syrup, take: – 2 cups of light honey; – 2 cups of water; – 2 cups of sugar; – 2 cinnamon sticks; – 1 teaspoon of grated orange zest; – 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Melt the butter in a small ladle. Pulse the walnuts and almonds in a food processor, add ground cinnamon, allspice, cloves and granulated sugar. Brush a rectangular baking dish with melted butter. The ideal size for a baklava dish is at least 3 centimeters in height, 25 in width and about 30 in length. Separate one sheet of filo dough and put it in a mold, dip a silicone brush in melted butter and brush the dough with it, put another layer of dough on top and repeat the procedure. After placing 10-12 layers like this, sprinkle them with ground nuts and cover with dough. Repeat a series of oiled layers again and add the filling again, continue until the ingredients run out. The last should be the layers of filo dough. Cut the collected baklava into squares or diamonds. Bake the sweetness for an hour in an oven preheated to 170 ° C. While the baklava is baking, make the syrup.
Pour water into a small saucepan, add honey and sugar, add cinnamon and zest, pour in vanilla. Boil the syrup, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Strain, refrigerate and pour over the finished baklava. Let it soak and serve.
To get crispy baklava, leave it in the turned off warm oven for a few hours.
Make oriental baklava with pistachios and honey syrup. You will need: – 1/2 cup melted butter; – 500 g filo dough; – 3 cups pistachios; – 1/3 cup sugar; – 1/3 cup honey; – 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; – 2 teaspoons lemon juice …
Chop the pistachio nuts. Preheat the oven to 170 ° C. Brush a baking dish with melted butter. Take 8 sheets of dough and line the bottom of the mold, brushing each top with melted butter. Add half of the pistachios and put in 8 more oiled sheets of dough, lay the remaining pistachios in an even layer and cover with the remaining sheets of dough, making sure to grease them with butter. Cut the baklava into diamonds with a side of 2 centimeters. Bake for 50 minutes, until golden brown. Take the syrup half an hour before it’s ready. In a saucepan, combine sugar, honey, cinnamon and lemon juice, bring to a boil and wait until sugar is completely dissolved. Reduce heat and simmer the syrup over low heat for about 5 minutes. When the baklava is ready, sprinkle it with syrup, let it cool and serve.