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- So I grew up in Egypt, born and bred,
and one of my absolute favorite desserts
is of course baklava, or baklava
as we say in Egypt and today I'm going to show you
my family's secret baklava recipe
complete with all the tips and tricks
to make the perfect baklava every single time.
I'm Suzy with themediterraneandish.com.
I'm all about easy, wholesome recipes
with big mediterranean flavors.
Today we get to indulge just a little bit and talk baklava.
Now if you haven't made baklava before
it is simpler than you think.
First component is of course the phyllo dough.
Now do not freak out.
You do not have to make phyllo dough from scratch.
I use organic phyllo dough from The Fillo Factory.
This is available in your freezer section
in almost any grocery store here in the US.
So this is the first component.
Second is the filling.
Now most baklava recipes
will call for either walnuts or pistachio.
I actually like to use both and I like to add hazelnut
and then the syrup on the baklava
is made of honey simple syrup that is so easy to do
right on the stove top.
I'm going to actually start with the honey simple syrup
over on the stove.
We're gonna start with the water, about one cup,
and then we have sugar.
I'm gonna stir this in until it dissolves
then I'm gonna add my honey and other flavor makers.
I'm using good quality honey here you guys
because it is a flavor maker
so try to use the best honey you can find.
About a good cup of honey goes in my honey simple syrup
for this baklava.
And then more flavor makers you guys.
I am using orange extract, about a tablespoon or so.
Five cloves, whole cloves.
We're gonna bring this to a boil
then all we have to do is turn it down and let it simmer
about 20 to 25 minutes or so.
So while this syrup is happily simmering
we're going to go ahead and make our nut mixture
that goes into our baklava.
Now remember I said that more traditionally
it's a walnut baklava or a pistachio baklava
but in my family I do a trio of nuts; walnuts, pistachios,
and hazelnuts and I promise you it is amazing.
So we're gonna go ahead and finely kinda chop these nuts
in the food processor.
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Here we go.
All three nuts are in, it's a nutty situation.
(laughs) All right.
(food processor whirs)
Okay, I'll show you the texture that I prefer
for my baklava filling.
I like it fine enough but I also like to have some pieces
that are a little bit larger.
That way it gives a perfect texture to my baklava.
We're gonna add a little bit more flavor.
I have just a little bit of sugar
and then we're gonna do about two tablespoons of cinnamon
and then I like to add a pinch of cloves.
This is ground cloves now.
It's just a tiny pinch,
maybe even less than a quarter teaspoon.
We're gonna make sure and mix it all together.
Beautiful syrup is all ready you guys.
So the reason I do this ahead of time
is to allow it time to kinda cool off
and thicken just a little bit.
So the finishing touch for me here is lemon juice,
really balances the flavor
of all that honey and sugar in the syrup,
really important and I do it right here off the heat.
Stir it right in and I'm gonna just set it aside
and let it completely cool before using it later.
And now the fun part of assembling our beautiful baklava.
So you got your box of organic phyllo dough
from The Fillo Factory.
We gotta open it up.
Important tip you guys, this is in the frozen section
so obviously it's been thawed in the fridge overnight.
Also, before you use it
take it out of the fridge for one hour.
This really helps keep things together.
Phyllo sheets are very thin
so just be careful as you pull it out.
Comes in a nice beautiful 13-by-18-inch sheets.
Super important tip you guys,
because you're probably not going to work
as fast with the phyllo, I use a damp towel
to kinda cover my sheets as I work
so that they don't dry up.
Think of this process as you would like a lasagna
or some other casserole
that requires you to do layers and layers of goodness right?
But this is even better, baklava right?
So who doesn't like layers of flaky phyllo
with beautiful nut mixture and honey syrup.
(groans delightfully) I am dying, I can't wait.
All right, so we're gonna go ahead
and just give our pan a brush here.
Make sure that you get also the sides
so that nothing sticks too much to your pan.
This is a nine by 13 pan
and my phyllo dough is a little bit bigger
but I'm gonna show you a trick I learned recently.
I fold it in half because that happens to fit perfectly.
Here's my first layer.
This is one sheet of phyllo.
Fold it in half and fits right perfectly.
So depending on the dough that you use,
it may or may not work this way.
So just make sure that you grab The Fillo Factory
which you can find at the freezer section.
So I laid two sheets of phyllo pretty much folded in half
and then I'm gonna butter 'em up, butter.
I'm gonna keep laying one sheet a time,
fold it in half like so like this,
and then just put it right in my pan
and then go in with a little bit of butter.
How easy and therapeutic almost, right?
I mean you just keep repeating the process.
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So we have about 1/3 of our phyllo dough
down in the pan so far
and I'm going to go ahead and add the first portion
of my nut mixture.
I'm going to add about half of this nut mixture
right now in here
and then we're gonna smooth this out
all the way to the corners you guys
because if you get a corner piece
you wanna make sure you have some nuts in there right?
Then we're gonna keep going with another third
of our phyllo dough.
If you guys have checked out my spanakopita recipe
and my apple strudel with this phyllo dough,
I use The Phyllo Factory organic phyllo dough all the time
in all sorts of recipes.
I love that it's organic.
Just really quality ingredients here
so no need to make your own.
You can just buy this stuff right in the freezer section.
To make it nice and tidy just take a knife around the edge
and clean it up.
We're gonna go in with the rest of our nut mixture.
All of it, all of it, all of it
and we're gonna go in with the rest of our phyllo dough
from now on.
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So I think a lot of people are intimidated
working with phyllo dough but as you see
it's not that difficult
and especially if you buy the higher quality
that's why I buy my phyllo dough from The Fillo Factory
because it comes in such good shape already
I don't have to worry about it,
and just kinda treat it with care, a little TLC, ya know?
One layer after another, couple layers of nuts,
I mean it's no biggie really.
The moment of truth.
How do you cut baklava so perfectly?
I am not the expert at it, actually my husband is
but this is how we do it.
So just pay attention.
You go right in the middle of your pan,
yes and you're gonna cut all the way through.
You're gonna essentially cut four rows
before you put this baby in the oven
and then from here we're gonna do diamond shapes.
If this process here is not perfect for you
don't worry about it.
All right, we are in business.
This baby is going in the oven.
I have the oven on 350 degrees
and it should take maybe 45 minutes or so
until it's nice and golden.
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All right, this is looking gorgeous and beautiful.
You are look for a very light golden brown color on top.
Super important trick, cooled syrup,
hot out of the oven baklava.
This is all you need to do for best, best taste.
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Well, our beautiful baklava is waiting here to be devoured
but sadly I have to wait a few hours because baklava is best
when the syrup has been completely absorbed.
So best thing you can do
is actually do it one night in advance
but I'll probably come back to it in a couple hours
and give it a quick quality control test.
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And that's it you guys.
It is simpler than you think.
Grab yourself a little phyllo dough
at the freezer section and make this baklava.
The recipe for how to make baklava
is on themediterraneandish.com.
Make sure you subscribe and follow this channel
for more delicious videos every single week.
I will see you later, ciao.
(uplifting contemporary music)