Is there anything better than sugar, butter flour? As a matter of fact, yes there is! Sugar, butter, phyllo and nuts! Theo Alex’s Best Baklava Recipe is just that combination.
From Lizz: Every member in a Greek family has a dish they are deemed to be the expert of. In our family, my brother Alex is the expert baklava maker. Alex is, very simply, a great cook in whatever he creates. Watching him in the kitchen is pure joy, simply because I love watching him do what he is passionate about and that is preparing delicious meals for his family and friends.
One of Alex’s signature Greek dishes is his baklava. Honestly, I have never had to make it myself because I always count on my brother to make it for our family for special occasions or during the holidays. When it came time to make it for our blog, my sister-in-law, Julie, walked me through preparing it. When she and my brother Alex tasted it, I got a thumbs up from them both!
The key in this Greek dessert is to be prepared with all your ingredients and to work quickly. Prepare the baklava syrup first and set it aside to cool to room temperature while you prepare the baklava and it bakes. Probably the single most important thing when working with phyllo dough however, is to keep it covered with a sheet of wax paper and a damp cloth on top of that. As you remove another layer of phyllo to layer into the pan, cover the rest with the wax paper and the damp cloth so that it does dry out. Have fun with this one!
Kali Orexi!
HOW TO MAKE THEO ALEX’S BEST BAKLAVA RECIPE
- Set the oven to 325 degrees F. Combine sugar, water, lemon juice, lemon rind and cinnamon stick in a small sauce pan. and stir together well. Bring to a low boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally, It should have a syrupy, thicker consistency when it is ready.
- Remove the syrup from the stovetop and strain over a large measuring cup to remove any bits of lemon and cinnamon.
- Add finely chopped walnuts, almonds, granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, combine well and set aside. Melt butter in microwave and set aside.
- Once the phyllo dough has thawed, carefully remove the phyllo dough from the plastic packaging and gently unroll the sheets and lay them flat on a clean surface. Cover the layers of thawed dough with a sheet of waxed paper followed by a damp dish towel to keep them moist while preparing the baklava. Please note that phyllo dough dries out and cracks very easily and when it does, you can’t use it.
- Begin by placing the first 2 layers of phyllo dough in a 9×13 baking pan with them overlapping on the bottom so that they cover the bottom but also extend over the edge of the baking pan on each side. Brush melted butter liberally over the phyllo. Add 6 more layers of phyllo, stopping to butter each layer as you go.
- Spread 1/3 of the walnut, almond, sugar cinnamon mixture evenly over the buttered phyllo dough.
- Repeat the previous two steps by layering and buttering 6 more sheets of phyllo dough and spreading 1/3 of the walnut, almond, sugar, cinnamon mixture on top. Fold over the bottom layers of phyllo dough that are extended over the edges and butter. Repeat once more. Finally, layer and butter 6 more layers of phyllo dough to complete the baklava.
- Using a sharp knife, score the top layers of the phyllo into eight even columns and four rows for a total of 32 pieces.
- Place a clove in the center of each piece. Bake for 45 minutes watching to ensure phyllo turns a golden brown.
- Remove baklava from the oven and immediately pour cooled syrup over the baklava. Allow baklava to cool and absorb syrup for 3-4 hours before cutting and serving.
Baklava Recipe
Theo Alex’s Best Baklava Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb filo dough
- 3/4 lb walnuts finely chopped
- 1/4 lb almonds finely chopped
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 3/4 lb unsalted butter melted
- 32 cloves whole
- melted semi sweet chocolate optional for drizzling over finished baklava
Baklava Syrup
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 cups water
- juice of one small or 1/2 large lemon
- lemon rind from squeezed lemon
- 1 cinnamon stick
Instructions
- The most reliable method for thawing phyllo dough is to put the frozen box of phyllo dough in the refrigerator overnight or at least 6 hours. Thawing it out in this way will usually yield better results. I've also taken the phyllo dough directly out of the freezer, removed the package from the box, leaving it in the plastic and letting it thaw for a couple of hours on the counter.
- Set your oven to 325° F. Prepare Baklava syrup first so that it has time to cool before you pour it over the baked baklava as soon as it comes out of the oven.
- Combine sugar, water, lemon juice, lemon rind and cinnamon stick in a small sauce pan. and stir together well. Bring to a low boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally, It should have a syrupy, thicker consistency when it is ready.
- Remove from heat and strain over a large measuring cup to remove any bits of lemon and cinnamon.
- Combine finely chopped walnuts, almonds, granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.
- Melt butter in microwave and set aside.
- Once the phyllo dough has thawed, carefully remove the phyllo dough from the plastic packaging and gently unroll the sheets and lay them flat on a clean surface. Cover the layers of thawed dough with a sheet of waxed paper and then covered by a damp dish towel to keep them moist while preparing the baklava. Phyllo dough dries out and cracks very easily and when it does, you can't use it.
- Begin by placing the first 2 layers of phyllo dough in a 9×13 baking pan with them overlapping on the bottom so that they cover the bottom but also extend over the edge of the baking pan on each side. Brush butter liberally over the phyllo. Add 6 more layers of phyllo, stopping to butter each layer as you go.
- Spread 1/3 of the walnut, almond, sugar cinnamon mixture evenly over the buttered phyllo dough.
- Repeat the previous two steps twice more by layering and buttering 6 more sheets of phyllo dough and spreading 1/3 of the walnut, almond, sugar, cinnamon mixture on top.
- Fold over the bottom layers of phyllo dough that are extended over the edges and butter. Layer and butter 6 more layers of phyllo dough.
- Using a sharp knife, score the top layers of the phyllo into eight even columns and four rows for a total of 32 pieces. Place a clove in the center of each piece.
- Bake for 45 minutes watching to ensure phyllo turns a golden brown.
- Remove baklava from the oven and immediately pour cooled syrup over the baklava. Allow baklava to cool and absorb syrup for 3-4 hours before cutting and serving.
- As an option, once the baklava has completely cooled off, you can drizzle melted semi sweet chocolate over the baklava. It adds yet another layer of goodness to an already amazing dessert.
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