Baklava

This past weekend, my friend Nina came to visit me from Chicago.  We had a good time exploring Chapel Hill and the surrounding environs and, of course, we ate pretty well.  Both of us love to bake, and we each come from cultures where baklava is a staple food group.  Basically, there was no other option on a rainy Saturday but to bake some of that flaky, buttery dessert.

With our two powers combined, we came up with a four-layer single-nut baklava drenched in sugar and butter.  Is it good for your body?  Probably not, though I can think of worse things to eat, dessert-wise.  But it is definitely good for your mood and your tastebuds, so I'd recommend you give it a try the next time you're feeling gloomy.  This kind of moist baklava can't be bought (or is extremely hard to find).

You'll need:

1 package frozen phyllo dough

3 cups walnuts

4 tbsp. + 3/4 cups brown sugar

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)

4 tsp. ground cinnamon

3 tsp. ground cloves

3 tsp. ground nutmeg

Approximately 24 hours before you're ready to make your baklava, put your frozen phyllo dough in the refrigerator to defrost.  Frozen phyllo dough will break and crack and generally be a mess to work with.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Place your walnuts, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg into a food processor and grind together so that the nuts are finely chopped.

Butter a 9-inch square baking pan and prepare to assemble!

Melt one stick of butter in the microwave.  Cutting the phyllo sheets so that fit into the pan, layer ten sheets of phyllo, buttering each sheet well with a pastry brush before placing another layer on top.

Distribute one-quarter of the filling mixture over the top layer of phyllo.  Then layer and butter five more sheets of phyllo.  Repeat three times, until you have used all of your filling mixture and have a top layer of five sheets of phyllo.

Cut your baklava into 16 diamond-shaped pieces.  This will help avoid making a mess cutting later, as well as allowing the post-baking syrup to infuse the whole pastry.

Bake in the 350 degree oven for approximately 45 minutes, or until the top is golden and flaky (see above).

About 15 minutes before you take the baklava out of the oven, prepare the syrup glaze.  Melt together one stick of butter (1/2 cup) and 3/4 cups brown sugar in a small saucepan.  Bring the mixture to just under a boil, so that it becomes thick and a uniform consistency.

After removing the baklava from the oven, pour the syrup over it.  Your baklava should now look like this:

Shiny!  Allow to cool and then devour (or some slightly more dignified verb).

Happy eating!