Description
Irresistible Christmas baklava blends rich Mediterranean traditions with holiday warmth. Nutty layers of phyllo pastry and sweet honey syrup create a festive dessert for special celebrations. Guests will savor these delicate, flaky treats.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 package (16 oz / 450 g) phyllo dough, thawed
- 2 cups (200 g) mixed nuts (walnuts, pistachios, and almonds), finely chopped
- 1 cup (225 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup (240 ml) water
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (180 ml) honey
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 whole cloves
- 1 orange peel (zest, removed in large strips)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Chopped pistachios or walnuts
- Edible gold leaf (optional, for a festive touch)
Instructions
- Oven Preparation: Preheat the oven to 175C (350F) and thoroughly coat a 9×13-inch baking dish with melted butter for optimal pastry release.
- Spice Blend: Combine chopped nuts with sugar, ground cinnamon, and clove spices in a mixing bowl, creating an aromatic base for the baklava’s distinctive flavor profile.
- Layering Technique: Methodically stack phyllo sheets into the buttered dish, brushing each translucent layer with melted butter to guarantee a crisp, golden exterior and ensure structural integrity.
- Assembly and Seasoning: Alternate buttered phyllo sheets with the spiced nut mixture, building layers that will create a rich, textured pastry with each carefully placed ingredient.
- Precision Cutting: Score the assembled pastry into elegant diamond or square shapes using a sharp knife, creating channels that will allow syrup to penetrate deeply into the baklava’s core.
- Baking and Syrup Creation: Bake the pastry for 40-50 minutes until golden and crisp, simultaneously preparing a luxurious syrup by simmering water, sugar, honey, cinnamon stick, cloves, and orange peel in a saucepan.
- Finishing Touches: Remove the syrup from heat, stir in vanilla extract, and immediately pour over the freshly baked baklava, ensuring complete and even saturation.
- Resting and Flavor Development: Allow the baklava to rest at room temperature for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight, enabling complete syrup absorption and flavor melding.
- Presentation: Garnish with finely chopped pistachios and optional edible gold leaf, creating a festive and elegant dessert ready to be served at room temperature.
Notes
- Butter Technique: Brush phyllo sheets generously and consistently with melted butter to achieve a crisp, flaky texture that enhances the overall pastry quality.
- Cutting Precision: Score the baklava before baking to create clean, geometric shapes that allow syrup to penetrate evenly throughout the pastry layers.
- Syrup Absorption: Let the baklava rest for at least 4 hours or overnight to ensure complete syrup absorption, which intensifies the flavor and softens the pastry.
- Temperature Control: Maintain a consistent oven temperature at 175C (350F) to prevent burning and ensure uniform golden-brown coloration of the phyllo layers.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 13
- Calories: 350
- Sugar: 20 g
- Sodium: 50 mg
- Fat: 25 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 15 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg