After many months of carefully studying the Great British Baking Show, the Scherer crusade for simple, delicious eats has resumed. In our household, the period stretching from Thanksgiving to our January birthdays is marked by succulent, sinful desserts. Recently, a new dish was added to our repertoire thanks to my friend Axelle, based off a Natasha’s Kitchen recipe. The Facile team would like, in turn, to reacquaint you with this relatively simple yet awe-inspiring treat: baklava.
Ingredients (serves 10-12 people)
For the syrup
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
¾ cup water
½ cup honey
For the dough and filling
16 oz filo dough (no need to make your own, store bought works great!)
2 sticks of butter
1 lb walnuts
½ cup hazelnuts
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Thaw the filo
Take that dough out of the freezer (look at the box for instructions)!
Make the syrup
It’s very important the syrup is completely cool by the time the filo is cooked, so I recommend making it first. Mix all the syrup ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high to medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved, then reduce to low to medium heat for 4 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat.
Prepare filling
Crush the walnuts and hazelnuts together. If you have a food processor, pulse 10 times, otherwise crushing the nuts in a ziplock with a rolling pin works just fine (that’s what we did) and allows for more control over the nuts’ texture. Put the ground nuts in a bowl and mix in the cinnamon.
Prepare for assembly
Preheat oven to 325F. Pick a deep, rectangular baking dish and grease the inside with butter. In a small bowl, melt a stick of butter; this will serve to grease each new layer of filo, creating that crispy texture and rich taste. Once you’ve made sure the filo is thawed, unroll it carefully and cut out a rectangle that’s the size of the dish. At this point, you’ll want to make sure the filo stays the right level of humidity. To that effect, wet a dishcloth or a paper towel, wring it out completely, and place it on the filo whenever it is unused. If the filo dries up, it will be very difficult to use.
Assemble the baklava
Place the first layer of filo in the bottom of the dish. Using your fingers or a brush, lather melted butter onto the filo. Pile on nine other layers in this fashion, brushing butter on every time. Then, evenly place a third of the crushed nuts into the dish, top this layer with a sheet of filo and butter it as you did before (the filo layers covering the nuts are usually the most delicate. Don’t worry if the filo tears or budges a little; this is normal and won’t affect the taste). For the rest of the layers, consult this overall structure:
10 layers of buttered filo
Layer of nuts
6 layers of buttered filo
Layer of nuts
6 layers of buttered filo
Layer of nuts
10 layers of buttered filo
Natasha’s recipe calls for four layers of nuts, and you can see how the recipe can easily be amended to accommodate this. I just choose three because it was faster and I didn’t want the baklava to be too tall.
Finally, cut the baklava: start by cutting 2-inch wide strips along the length. Then, cut diagonals 1 inch apart which should result in diamond-shaped servings.
Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
As soon as you remove the dish from the oven, pour the sirup evenly on the baklava. It will ensure that it stays crisp. Let the baklava absorb the sirup and cool down to room temperature.
