Greek baklava
Greek baklava is a worldwide delicious traditional dessert made from layers of crispy golden phyllo dough, stuffed with chopped walnuts and covered with honey syrup.
Equipment
- Baking pan
- Boiling pot
Ingredients
- 1 package baklava phyllo
- 250 g walnuts (you can mix pistachio, almonds, etc.)
- 2 tbsp cinnamon
- 300 g butter (melted)
- You can add raisins, cloves and even breadcrumbs to have more stuffing.
Sweet Syrup
- 800 g sugar
- 400 ml water
- 80 g honey
- 1 lemon or orange zest
Instructions
- 1. To begin, melt the butter in a pan but on a low heat. Use the brush to oil the sides of your baking pan with it. You will also do the same with every phyllo you put in .
- 2. Take one phyllo and use the brush to spread melted butter on it and do the same with 10 phyllos, putting them on top of each other.
- 3. Then put all your nut/cinnamon mixture all over the tenth phyllo and continue stacking buttered phyllo until you’ve run out.If you wish, you can put a little bit of nut mixture on every phyllo.
- 4. Once everything is in place, put it in the fridge for 15 minutes and cut into desired-size cubes or triangles. Sprinkle with water.
- 5. Put your baklava in the oven heated at 150 degrees and bake for abo45 minutes or until all the layers are golden brown.
Now it’s time to prepare the syrup:
- 6. Bring the sugar, water and lemon zest to a boil until sugar is dissolved.
- 7. Take it off the heat and add honey and stir.
- 8. After the syrup has cooled, pour it slowly over the hot baklava.
- 9. Serve it cold (if you can wait so much!) and enjoy!
Notes
Greek baklava is a worldwide delicious traditional dessert made from layers of crispy golden phyllo dough, stuffed with chopped walnuts and covered with honey syrup.
Nobody is quite sure about the origin and history of baklava. Greeks and Turks are still arguing over it, and both countries are claiming it. Many historians believe that it has its roots in ancient Greece, where gastrin - a dessert very similar to today's baklava - originated.
The classic Greek recipe for baklava consists of three main ingredients: phyllo, stuffing made of walnuts and syrup with honey.
The general difference between the Turkish and Greek baklava is that the Greek one uses honey, nuts and cinnamon, while Turkish baklava uses sugar syrup, pistachios and lemon juice without adding spices or other flavors.
In central Greece, baklava is made only from almonds, in Pelion with walnuts, and in northern Greece, pistachios are added. So feel free to experiment, play with it and make it with the ingredients that you love most..