The origins of Baklava are not very clear, it has been claimed by various peoples of Middle Eastern and Balkan countries: the dessert probably descends from a Byzantine dish (therefore, Greek) based on honey and walnuts, which however did not involve the use of phyllo dough.
Almost certainly, the recipe as we know it today (with the addition of phyllo dough) was created in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, where the Sultan used to give this dessert to his soldiers on the 15th of the month of Ramadan, during the ceremony called Baklava Alay.
Let's tie up the apron and let's get started!
INGREDIENTS for a rectangular cake mold 20x30 cm:
15 sheets of phyllo dough
200 g shelled walnuts
90 g chopped pistachios (or whole, we'll grind them)
200 g chopped almonds (or whole, we'll grind them)
170 g butter
180 g honey (I used a Greek honey with thyme and wild flowers)
50 g sugar to be used only if you want to sweeten the chosen honey (in this case I did not use it)
the juice of one lemon
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
PREPARATION
First, grind the walnuts (and all the dried fruit that we eventually couldn't find in grains) in a mixer, just for a few seconds, we don't have to reduce them to powder:
In a saucepan, melt the butter over a very low heat and then set it aside:
Pour all the dried fruit into a bowl, add honey, lemon juice and cinnamon; stir to mix everything together and divide the mixture into two equal parts:
If we wanted to sweeten the honey, before adding it to the mixture, mix it with the sugar in a saucepan, heating it over low heat until it has completely dissolved.
Brush the bottom and edges of the pan with a little melted butter:
Place 5 sheets of phyllo dough, brushing each of them abundantly with the melted butter:
Arrange the first half of the chopped mixture evenly on the fifth sheet of phyllo dough:
Cover with 5 sheets of phyllo dough, continuing to butter each of them with plenty of melted butter and place the second half of the minced mixture on the last sheet.
Close with the last 5 sheets of phyllo dough, buttering them one by one (including the last one) and divide the cake into 12 portions using a knife:
Cook in a STATIC OVEN preheated to 150 °C for about 45 minutes, using the medium-low shelf (not the lowest); the phyllo dough must be golden brown.
If we wanted to make our dessert softer, boil 500 mL of water, 50 g of sugar and 70 g of honey in a pan for about ten minutes; cover our dessert still in the pan and let it rest for about 12 hours at room temperature.
Happy tasting!
Keep Baklava for a week at room temperature, tightly closed in a container or cake box.
To download this recipe card, click below:
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