BAKLAVAS, MIDDLE EASTERN DESSERT RECIPE

BAKLAVAS RECIPE - a favorite Middle Eastern Recipe that you can work off with Belly Dancing! 
Try this all-time favorite recipe of mine served at many of our Belly Dance parties where students dance to oftentimes live music and we enjoy delicious Mediterranean & Middle Eastern cuisines.  Baklavas is delicous and served in small pieces so even your diet-conscious guests will want to try it!  It sounds disgusting, but I have had some guests even lick the baking pan they love the Baklava sooooo much and don't want to waste even a crumb of it! 

BAKLAVAS

Makes 24 - 30 pieces when cut.

Baklavas consists of paper-thin phyllo pastry dough placed in a large pan, combined in layers with butter and crushed spiced nuts and then drenched in a wonderful orange flavored syrup after baking.

INGREDIENTS:

FILLING

1 lb. butter unsalted

1 1/4 lb. crushed walnuts

2/3 c. sugar

1 T. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

PHYLLO

Make sure phyllo is at room temperature.  Lay damp dish towel or paper towels over dough to keep from drying out.

1 lb. unsalted butter

1 lb. phyllo

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

SYRUP

2 c. sugar

1 1/4 c. water

1/2 lemon juiced

Peel of 1 lemon and 1 orange

1 tsp. vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

Melt the butter.  Combine syrup ingredients and bring to boil, then simmer syrup on low heat for about 4 minutes.  Set it aside to cool until the baklavas is baked.  Combine nuts, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, then set the filing mix aside.  Preheat oven to 350. 

Place phyllo into buttered pan in layers - completely cover the bottom of the pan with phyllo in a single layer.

Then brush phyllo with melted butter and cinnamon/nutmeg mixture. 

Use a spoon to sprinkle about 1/3 c. filing mixture on first layer of phyllo.

Repeat - layering phyllo, then brush with butter mixture, then add filling mixture. 

You should have about 4 layers with all of the ingredients used, except for the cooled syrup to be used after baking.

Bake the baklavas for 45 minutes or until the top is light golden brown.  Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool.  

Next, pour the cooled syrup over the top of the baklavas.  

Then take a sharp knife and cut through all of the layers in a diamond pattern (per photo).

You may serve this up as a dessert or as  delicious cocktail hour treat.

I called my friend,  Terri - The Martini Diva, to see what she would suggest we serve with our Baklava and she suggested her recipe for a Pomegranate Lemon Drop Martini because it has a Middle Eastern flair since Pomegranate is from the Middle East and this is very refreshing.
 
Pomegranate juice mixed with sparkling water would also be refreshing.
Enjoy!