The other weekend I baked a few little things for an afternoon tea, and I was asked for the recipe I used to make the baklava. I like baklava, and having it made it now, I’d probably buy it rather than bake it, as it is a bit time-consuming. However, the satisfaction of having done it yourself does add something to the flavour. This recipe is a modified version of the one from Donna Hay’s excellent Modern Classics Book 2.
Ingredients
36 sheets of filo pastry (one 375g pack of Pampas filo is sufficient)
125g melted butter (for pastry)
3 tablespoons oil
1 – 1.5 cups chopped walnuts (100-150g of walnuts)
1.5 cups chopped almonds (150g – blanched is good but not required)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (for filling)
1/3 cup brown sugar
45g softened butter (for filling)
1 cup water
2 cups white sugar
0.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon (for syrup)
2 cloves
Method
Heat oven to 160 degrees celcius. Defrost the filo pastry. Grease a shallow, rectangular tray about 20cm by 30cm (don’t line with foil or baking paper).
Make filling by finely chopping and combining all the nuts with cinnamon, sugar and butter.
Combine butter and oil. Place a single sheet of filo into tray, and moisten with butter-oil using pasty brush. If a single sheet doesn’t fit, just tear the pastry to size, or even cover with multiple pieces of sheets so that whole tray is covered. Put another sheet down and moisten again. Build up 12 layers of sheets this way.
Spread half of the spiced nut mixture evenly across the pastry. Cover with another 12 layers of pastry, as before. Then spread the remaining half of mixture on top. Finish with the remaining 12 layers of pastry in the same way.
Cut the tray of baklava into diamonds – one set of cuts parallel to the sides, and another at an angle. Should make about 28 pieces. Put it into the oven, and bake for 1 hour. But don’t stop yet, there’s the syrup to make.
Put the sugar, water, cinnamon and cloves in a saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Simmer for a further six minutes until it forms a syrup, and then remove from heat. Take the cloves out.
After the baklava is cooked, remove and let sit for five minutes or so, then pour the syrup over. It’s tasty warm, or if you’ve got self-control, wait about a day, and it will be even better.
It is a lot of work making Baklava but there is nothing better then home made. I have had Baklava in restrants, Greek Festivals etc and thought they are good the touch of love isn’t there. Your recipe looks good.
Whats the deal? Why are some of these measurements in metric, while others are not? Love it though.
Thanks,
M, N, and A
Thanks. Actually, all the measurements are “metric”. For example, I use a metric cup of 250ml and a metric tablespoon of 20ml.
Great recipe, it’s easy and affordable (compared to buying it by the piece). I’ve now made 6 batches. I’m sure my friends and relatives’ dentists will appreciate me! I always end up making at least 2 batches at a time, my trays are smaller than the filo pastry sheets so there’s the dilemma of what to do with the leftover pastry – might as well make another batch!
First time I ever tried making it, I googled the recipe and found this one.. I loved making it, and even more, loved eating it!! The feedback I received was awesome!! “better than any other baklava I’ve ever tasted”.. words like that; music to my ears…. :):):)
Irini, I’m glad to hear that your cooking was so well received!
hhope its a good one, im about to cook it 4 80 friends and rellos
how is this different from Donna Hay’s recipe?
It was five years ago now, so I don’t remember exactly, but I believe that the main difference in taste was that my syrup is spiced while Donna Hay’s wasn’t. My write-up is more detailed than the original, also.