Classic Syrian Baklava Recipes

SYRIAN WALNUT BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Chop walnuts by hand into small pieces. (A food processor will bruise and pulverize the walnuts, creating a powdery effect.) Transfer to a bowl and mix with confectioners' sugar and orange blossom water.
• Cover phyllo pastry with a clean, lightly damp kitchen towel. Layer a pastry sheet into a 13-by-18-inch pan, securing it in a few places with dabs of clarified butter in the bottom of the pan. Brush sheet lightly with butter before layering on the next sheet. Continue layering butter and sheets; once half the sheets have been used, scatter the walnut mixture evenly over the top, being careful not to rip the pastry or leave any spots uncovered.
• Layer the remaining sheets, brushing each lightly with butter, including the top one. If your sheets are larger than the pan, trim the stack all at once so the edges are flush with the pan. Cut baklava into 3-inch squares, and pour any remaining butter around the edges. Bake for 40 minutes, or until top is a light golden brown.
• Meanwhile, prepare simple syrup: Boil granulated sugar and 3/4 cup/180 milliliters water together in a small pot over medium-high heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat and add lemon juice. Stir, set aside and let cool to lukewarm.
• If there is excess butter in the baklava pan, carefully tip it over the sink to drain. While baklava is still hot, drizzle over the lukewarm syrup, being sure to get it in the gaps between pieces. Once completely cool, the baklava is best stored covered at room temperature and eaten within a few days.

CLASSIC SYRIAN BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Make syrup: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring granulated sugar and 1 cup water to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add lemon juice. "It helps prevent crystallization," Al Mousa explains. Reduce heat to an active simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened and reduced to a scant 1 3/4 cups, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in 1 tsp. orange blossom water, and let syrup cool.
• Preheat oven to 350°. Make filling: In a large bowl, combine superfine sugar, remaining 2 tsp. orange blossom water, and 1/3 cup syrup. Add walnuts and stir until well blended. Set remaining syrup aside. Brush a rimmed baking sheet with a bit of the butter.
• Unroll filo. As you work, "keep it covered with a kitchen towel if you feel it's drying," Al Mousa advises. Lay 1 sheet filo in pan and brush generously with butter, making sure to cover all the dough. Repeat until you've used 14 sheets (any air bubbles that form will work their way out).
• Spoon filling over filo, spread evenly, and press mixture all over with back of spoon. "This way it won't fall apart when you eat it." Lay a sheet of filo on top and press it firmly with flat hands. Brush generously with butter, then repeat layering, pressing, and buttering with 5 more sheets. Layer and butter remaining 6 sheets, flattening them with your hands (no need to press).
• With a knife, trim shaggy filo edges flush with sides of pan (leave edges in pan for snacking later!). Using knife and a ruler, score filo at opposite long ends to mark 6 equal strips; then cut along score lines, using the ruler as a guide. Repeat on a diagonal, making 12 strips 1 1/2 in. wide to create diamonds.
• Bake, rotating pan twice for even browning, until filo is deep golden and crisp, including down into cuts, about 35 minutes. Using a soup spoon, evenly coat hot baklava with 1 to 1 1/4 cups of reserved, room-temperature syrup. "If the baklava has cooled or the syrup is hot, it won't be crunchy, it will be soggy," warns Al Mousa. (How much syrup is a matter of taste-some people like it sweeter.)
• Sprinkle center of each diamond with a generous pinch of pistachios. Let baklava cool in pan on a rack at least 1 hour. Re-cut if needed before serving, and cut bigger pieces in half if you like. *Find orange blossom water at grocery stores with baking and cocktail supplies, and at international markets. Find ghee at supermarkets and Indian grocery stores, and samneh at Arabic markets; a blend of butter and oil is the most economical, but all-butter tastes the best. At grocery stores, check packages of frozen, paper-thin filo dough carefully for size (you want sheets about 12 by 17 in.), and buy more than 1 box, as the quantity of sheets per pound varies by brand. To help prevent cracking, thaw in the refrigerator overnight, not on the counter. MAKE AHEAD: The syrup and the baklava, up to 1 week, airtight at room temperature.

BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Position a rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Combine the nuts, cinnamon and ground crackers in a bowl.
• Brush a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with some of the butter. Layer 10 pieces of phyllo in the dish, brushing each piece with butter before adding the next (keep the remaining dough covered with a damp towel). Sprinkle a quarter of the nut mixture over the dough. Layer 4 pieces of phyllo on top, brushing each with butter before adding the next; sprinkle with another quarter of the nut mixture. Add 4 more phyllo pieces on top, brushing each with butter, then add another quarter of the nut mixture, 4 more pieces of phyllo with butter, and the remaining nuts.
• Layer the remaining 10 pieces of phyllo on top of the nuts, brushing each with butter; brush the top piece with extra butter. Cut into the baklava to make strips, about 1 1/2 inches wide. Then make diagonal slices, about 1 1/2 inches apart, to create a diamond pattern. Bake until golden, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, make the syrup: Bring the sugar, honey and 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat and cook, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the lemon juice and boil 2 more minutes, then let cool slightly.
• Pour the syrup over the warm baklava; let soak, uncovered, at least 6 hours or overnight. Garnish with nuts.

BAKLAVA

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the walnuts, sugar, cinnamon and cloves; set aside. Brush a 15x10x1-in. baking pan with some of the butter. Unroll 1 package phyllo dough; cut stack into a 10-1/2x9-in. rectangle. Repeat with remaining phyllo. Discard scraps., Line bottom of prepared pan with 2 sheets of phyllo dough (sheets will overlap slightly). Brush with butter. Repeat layers 14 times. (Keep dough covered with a damp towel until ready to use to prevent it from drying out.) , Spread with 2 cups walnut mixture. Top with 5 layers of phyllo dough, brushing with butter between each sheet. Spread with remaining walnut mixture. Top with 1 layer of phyllo dough; brush with butter. Repeat 14 times. Cut into 2-1/2-in. squares; cut each square in half diagonally. Brush remaining butter over top. Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown., In a large saucepan, bring syrup ingredients to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes. Strain and discard zest; cool to lukewarm. Pour syrup over warm baklava.

GREEK BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.
• Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Cut whole stack in half to fit pan. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.
• Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.
• Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
• Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool. Serve in cupcake papers. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.

BAKLAWA - SYRIAN VERSION OF BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Butter baking pans thoroughly.
• Place 1 lb.
• of dough in pan, brushing butter between each sheet.
• Do not butter top sheet.
• Combine ingredients for nut filling and spread evenly on last layer.
• Place the other 1 lb.
• dough over nut filling, brushing each layer with butter between each sheet.
• Cut in diamond shapes.
• Pour remaining butter over top.
• Bake in a preheated oven@ 400 degrees for 15 minutes.
• ,then reduce heat to 325 degrees for 45 minutes.
• *NOTE:Keep dough covered with damp cloth or plastic while using to prevent dough from drying out.
• SYRUP:.
• Mix sugar and water and boil over medium hear for 15-20 minutes Add lemon juice and rose water before removing from heat.
• Let syrup stand for 10 minutes before pouring over cold Baklawa.

CLASSIC GREEK BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9 by 13-inch pan.
• Mix the nuts with cinnamon, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/4 cup of melted butter. Set aside. Unroll the phyllo pastry. Cut the whole stack in half to fit the pan. Cover the phyllo with a dampened clean kitchen towel to keep the phyllo from drying out as you work. Lay 2 phyllo sheets in the pan and using a brush, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 6 sheets layered. Sprinkle 1 1/2 cups nut mixture on top. Layer with 2 phyllo sheets, brush with butter and add nuts to end up with 4 layers of nuts and dough. The top layer should be about 6 to 8 phyllo sheets deep.
• Using a sharp knife, cut diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut 4 long rows then make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes, until the baklava is golden and crisp.
• Make the sauce while the baklava is baking. Boil the water and remaining sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Add the honey and vanilla. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
• Remove the baklava from the oven and immediately spoon the sauce over it. Let cool.
• In the meantime, place the grapes on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, until the grapes start to burst.
• Serve the baklava with Greek yogurt, the baked grapes and a drizzle of honey and crushed walnuts.
• Cook's Notes: Walnuts can be replaced by any kind of nuts or a combination of nuts.
• Phyllo pastry is available in the freezer section of most grocery stores.

SYRIAN CREAM-FILLED BAKLAVA (BAKLAVA MUHALABIYYA)

Steps:

• Make syrup:
• Place sugar, water, and flower water in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring so that the syrup dissolves. Let boil until it is a slightly thick syrup, then set aside and let cool completely.
• Make filling:
• Place homogenized milk, sugar, spices, and sea salt in a sauce pan. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring so that the sugar dissolves.
• Add the semolina in a slow stream, stirring to combine.
• Simmer the mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thickened and the semolina is soft, about 10 minutes.
• Set aside to cool completely before using.
• Putting it all together:.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F
• Have your melted butter and pastry brush ready. Get two cloths or dish towels, moisten them, then wring them out as much as possible. Unroll your phyllo on your work surface and cover it with plastic wrap then cover with the damp cloths.
• Brush a 9X13 inch baking dish all over with some of the melted butter.
• Brush one sheet of phyllo lightly with the butter, then place in the baking dish, letting any extra come up the sides. Repeat, brushing a phyllo sheet with butter and layering it in the baking dish, keeping the remaining phyllo covered, until you've used half the phyllo.
• Evenly put the filling into the dish on the phyllo that was last brushed with butter.
• Continue brushing phyllo with butter, then layering it on top of the filling, allowing the edges of phyllo to hang over the sides of the pan. When you have layered all but 2 sheets of the phyllo, take all the pieces of phyllo that are hanging over the sides and fold them back into the pan, (some of the edges may be dry, snap them off and discard them), Brush the fold overs with butter. Brush the final 2 sheets of phyllo with butter and place them over the pan, tucking the edges down into the side of the pan. Brush the top with melted butter.
• Score the top layer of the pie to form diamonds (it looks prettier than squares, but do what you can) then run your knife through the scores again, cutting all the way through to the bottom the pan. Place in the oven and bake until crisp and golden watch at 40 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and immediately pour the cool syrup slowly over the baklava. Set aside to absorb for several hours before serving.
• Helpful Tips:.
• When working with phyllo, it's important to work quickly to keep the dough from drying out. In order to do so, make sure you have all your ingredients and tools ready, and know what you are going to do. Read through the recipe several times to familiarize yourself with the process, this will help prevent you from constantly stopping to check the recipe, which will slow you down.
• Never leave phyllo uncovered for more than a minute.
• Brush each phyllo sheet lightly with butter, beginning at the corners and working inward. You want to brush it with enough butter to prevent dryness, but you don't want to saturate it so that it's heavy or soggy.
• Make sure your syrup is cooled before you use it. Cool syrup + hot phyllo = crispy baklava.