Baklava

Note the assembled baklava requires several hours of soak time so plan ahead.

If you haven’t already, bring phyllo dough to room temperature. I thaw the frozen dough in the refrigerator for up to a few hours before starting baklava assembly.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush the bottom and sides of a 13x9x2-inch pan with butter

In a medium sized bowl toss chopped nuts with cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger powder. Set aside.

Trim the sheets of phyllo (I use scissors) to fit the bottom of the 13x9x2-inch pan. Set phyllo aside on top of the sheet it was packed in. Cover it with plastic wrap and a damp, well-wrung kitchen towel. Phyllo dries out and gets brittle very fast. Keep with you only what is needed for the moment.

Grab hold of two sheets of phyllo and lay them down and press gently into the pan. Lightly brush the top sheet with butter. Repeat this step 4 more times, every 2 sheets buttered, for a total of 8 sheets of phyllo.

Spoon 3 tablespoons of nut filling or enough to make a single layer over the top of this 8th sheet.

Place over this four sheets of phyllo, buttering in between every two. Then add another layer of nuts. Repeat four sheets, buttering between every two. Then add another layer of nuts. Do this until you have used up the nut mixture.

Once you have placed in the last installment of nuts on the top, lay over it a final 8 sheets of dough, buttering between each two. Finish off with a liberal brushing of butter on the top layer.

Using a sharp knife cut through the top layers, stopping within half an inch of the bottom of the pan, making 5-6 diagonal rows, lengthwise and then cut across to form 2″-3″ individual diamond shaped cuts.

Spritz with a light spray of water to avoid any curling of the dough. Place in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, until top is golden brown and crisp.

Make syrup by boiling sugar and water in a saucepan. Once it hits a boil add honey and the clove and stir through. Lower the heat and let it simmer, stirring occasionally for 10-15 minutes. Take off heat and add vanilla.

Remove baklava from oven. Strain the clove out of the syrup. Allow it to cool.

Carefully pour cooled syrup over hot baklava, waiting for layers to absorb the syrup before adding more. Score through the cuts all the way to the bottom layer.

Wait a few hours for the syrup to absorb and serve once baklava is room temperature.

Inspirations and sources: Allrecipes.com, Pioneer Woman and Alton Brown.