Baklava to Kill For Recipe By : Chuck Demas' Great Aunt (rewritten by Chuck) Serving Size : 60-90 Preparation Time :1:00 Categories : Desserts Ingredients: Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- Syrup: 4 cups sugar 2 cups water 2 sticks cinnamon - sticks ~ 3 inches long 3/4 cup honey 1 tbs lemon juice Nut mixture: 1 1/2 lbs walnuts 2 tsp cinnamon - powdered Pastry: 1 lb phyllo dough - thawed 1 1/4 lb melted butter Equipment: Tall large pot for making the syrup. Ladle (optional) Candy thermometer. Baking pan about the size of the phyllo sheets. I've used stainless steel and have even used a jelly-roll pan. 2-3 inch paint brush for applying the melted butter. Food processor for chopping the nuts with the powdered cinnamon Electric Knife (optional) for cutting the pastry before baking. otherwise a good, very sharp knife. Other: Metalized cup-cake cups to put individual pieces in for serving. Procedure: Thaw the phyllo dough inside it's plastic package, and don't open it until you're ready to go. If you forget, and you need to speed it up, you can thaw it in its sealed plastic package in warm water, but better to remember (I forgot once, can you tell? :-) ). Chop the nuts with the powdered cinnamon in a food processor. Pulse it to get good control on the size. You want a fine chop, but not powder. This takes about 5-10 seconds. Do it in batches if necessary. You can do this by hand, but it's easier to find a friend with a food processor. :-) Put the chopped nuts in a medium-large bowl. Put the sugar, honey, water, cinnamon sticks, and lemon juice into a tall pot. Stir well and boil until 220 degrees Fahrenheit on a candy thermometer (soft ball). Remove from heat, skim any scum off the top and let cool. Remove the cinnamon sticks. Melt the butter in a saucepan while the syrup is boiling. Some people clarify the butter, I don't bother. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. OK, time to assemble, open the phyllo and unfold it. Brush the inside of the pan with melted butter. It really goes much faster with a 3 inch brush for the rest. A larger brush will tear the phyllo, and smaller ones take more time and the phyllo can dry out. You can cover the phyllo if you want, but if you open it and spread it out and do it straight through, I've never needed to cover it. Make sure your butter is very liquid when you start. Put six sheets of phyllo in the pan, brushing each sheet with melted butter before adding the next sheet. Put about 6 sheets of phyllo dough aside for the top layers. Actually, I just book-mark the last six sheets on the pile. After the first six sheets, sprinkle some of the nut mixture over the buttered sheet in the pan. I use about a handful or two, it's easier if you have two people, one to do the nuts, and one to put the sheets down and butter them. Add another sheet of phyllo covering the nuts, then butter that sheet. Repeat the process until you get to the last six sheets (See the notes). You want to use up the nuts at the same time you run out of phyllo, not counting the six sheets for the top layers, so try to plan it out. This is a little touchy, but if you get it secured at the edges first, it helps, just be delicate, but quick. :-) Don't worry about torn or broken up sheets, just put them in and butter them down. In the end, no one will know. Have no fear and keep working. :-) Now place the last six sheets on top of the rest, one at a time, brushing each with butter after it is added. You should have a little butter left over. I just pour it over the pastry after I cut it, but that's not necessary, and after you've done it a couple times you can adjust the amount of butter you use. Cut the pastry into diamond shapes, all the way through. My great aunt used an electric knife, and thought it made the cutting very easy. If you don't have one, use a *VERY* sharp knife. If it's not sharp, it's a real pain/disaster cutting the pastry. Make sure you cut all the way through the pastry. I cut down the length of the pan, and then diagonally to make the diamonds. See the cutting diagram below. All the cuts are continuous, even if the diagram looks differently. The first two lengthwise cuts are just inside the pan edges, so that all the diamond's are perfect, and then I make the remaining lengthwise cuts dividing the pastry into equal strips. The diagonal cuts start at the top of the vertical cuts. This leaves thin small strips and small triangles at the pan edges and are a cooks/helpers treat after baking. You can make the diamonds as large or small as you like, but I usually cut about 6-8 horizontal diamonds across, about 1 - 1.5 inch wide diamonds, across short length of the pan. Sprinkle the top with water. Put the pastry into a preheated 350 degree Fahrenheit oven. Bake for 1 hour, the top should be a medium golden brown when done. When done, remove from the over and ladle the cool syrup over the hot pastry. Hot pastry - cool syrup, cool pastry - hot syrup. Let it sit for about 5-15 minutes, then drain off the excess syrup by tilting the pan, as much as as much as 45 degrees. Let it cool to near room temperature before taking the baklava up, if you can wait, but you can eat those thin edges now, if you want. :-) Using cup-cake cups (metalized outside, paper inside) makes a good way to put them on a platter for serving, or to put out for guests to take, as on a buffet. All told, it takes about an hour to make and an hour to bake. Makes 60 to 90 pieces, depending upon size. This baklava keeps well and freezes well, although I've never found a need to freeze it, it just disappears too fast. :-) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NOTES : The lemon keeps the syrup from crystallizing. Don't worry about broken sheets, or stuck together sheets of phyllo, just piece them together and butter it down. Depending on the size of the pan you use and the size of the phyllo sheets, you probably will not fit the pan exactly, if it hangs over the edges, just fold it back over to the inside of the pan, and butter it down. Do this every 2-4 sheets. If the pan is slightly too big, just lay the phyllo well into each corner or if only one dimension is too large then alternate sides to get coverage. Remember there are a lot of sheets and it all works out, just have no fear. Turn the overlying edges in and butter them down. Cutting diagram: _______________ |/|/|/|/|/|/|/| |/|/|/|/|/|/|/| |/|/|/|/|/|/|/| |/|/|/|/|/|/|/| |/|/|/|/|/|/|/| |/|/|/|/|/|/|/| |/|/|/|/|/|/|/| |/|/|/|/|/|/|/| |/|/|/|/|/|/|/| |/|/|/|/|/|/|/| |/|/|/|/|/|/|/| ---------------