Turkish Baklava

October is breast cancer awareness month.  November is diabetes awareness month.  Yet, here I am, a T1D, making baklava for a bake sale in November to support Breast Cancer research...hmphf...

UPDATE:  I just realized that I sound kind of rude just there...  I am happy to raise money for Breast Cancer research.  I have had relatives go through that fight and it sucks.  I just would also like people to get this excited about raising money for diabetes research too.  Just because we don't look sick, doesn't mean we don't need a cure.

Anyway, the university hosted an international bake sale where the funds raised go to support Breast Cancer research and, despite not being particularly international, I decided it would be a GREAT outlet for my desire to bake (which I have been suppressing a bit lately).  Teamed up with my friends B and M, we decided that baklava was the way to go - it's easy, international, and delicious. 


I think when most people think "baklava" their minds immediately go straight to Greece, but a little research told me that it is native to the Ottoman Empire and modern-day Turkey.  A little more research showed me that the Turkish recipes tend to be lower in sugar than the Greek counterpart so here you will find a decidedly Turkish version of the dessert.

Adapted from here and here.
Makes 64 pieces.

---Ingredients-----------------------------------------------------------

3 cups walnuts, plus extra for sprinkling (optional)
2 tbsp sugar
1-1/2 cups unsalted clarified butter
1 tbsp cinnamon
2 packages of phyllo dough, most stores sell them in double packs - just get the one double box.
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup honey
juice of 1 lemon

---Preparation-----------------------------------------------------------

If clarifying your own butter, start with 1 lb of unsalted butter. In a saucepan over low heat, melt butter. It will separate into 3 layers: a foamy froth on top, a clear liquid in the middle and a white solid at the bottom. When the butter is heated through and no more foam is developing, remove from heat. Remove the foam with a spoon. You want to keep the yellow liquid. You can save it by decanting it from the saucepan without disturbing the milk solids, or strain it through a cheesecloth-lined strainer.

Preheat oven to 300F.

Place the walnuts and sugar in a food processor and process until medium to finely ground (but not too fine!). Set aside.

Brush the inside of two 9x13 inch baking pans with a little bit of the clarified butter. Oops, I missed this step, but they turned out fine - I just lost the bottom layer...

Layer phyllo then butter so that you have 8 sheets/layers.  Sprinkle 1/3 cup of the nut mixture over the phyllo in the pan. Set down two layers of phyllo/butter and sprinkle with 1/3 cup of mixture. Repeat two layers of phyllo/butter and 1/3 cup of mixture until you finish with the rest of the package of phyllo/butter on top.  (That's 3 layers of nuts total.)

TIP: Keep the phyllo dough under a damp towel during assembly.  If the dough dries out, you will have flat baklava in the end.

Using a sharp knife dipped in hot water, cut through the dough approximately halfway down the height of the pan to make 36 pieces. (Divide in fourths each way and then half each square along the diagonal.)

Bake for 1 hour and 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil the water and sugar for 15 minutes. Add the honey and lemon (careful that it doesn’t boil over) and let boil for 2 more minutes.  Allow to cool.

Pour the cold syrup evenly over the cut lines of the hot pastry. The sizzle is quite exciting! Sprinkle the baklava with chopped walnuts or pistachios, if desired, and let it cool completely. Serve at room temperature.

Baklava keeps for 1 week in a cool, dry place. Or package in muffin cups and wrap for a great bake-sale treat!

 Nutrition Facts, calculated with the Recipe Calculator
serving size: 2 triangles

Calories 275.1
Total Fat 17.8 g
Total Carbohydrate 26.9 g
Sugars 10.6 g
Protein 3.8 g