Baklava (Μπακλαβάς)

Pastry Chef Alexis Constantinides shares the baklava recipe you can enjoy at the Dallas Greek Food Festival

Baklava (Μπακλαβάς)

Yields: approximately 48 pieces
Prep time: 30 minutes
Bake time: 30 minutes 
Total time: 1 hour

Items needed: 
Pastry brush
Half sheet pan (can also use a 9x13 baking pan and increase your layers of nuts & phyllo)
Food processor
Small pot

Ingredients:
for the baklava
1.5 lb (1 box) phyllo dough
¾ lb clarified butter, melted
1 ¼ lbs. walnuts, roasted and chopped
½ cup sugar
1 ½ tsp cinnamon (adjusted to taste)

for syrup
2 cups sugar
1.5 cups water
1/2 cup honey
1 cinnamon stick
1 slice of orange
2 tbsp lemon juice

Preparation:
Make the filling
1. Preheat oven to 325 °F. Place walnuts on a cookie sheet and carefully roast until lightly golden and you can just smell the aroma, about 5-10 minutes. Pulse in a food processor until medium-fine. You can do this ahead of time and store the nuts airtight.
2. Once cooled, combine the nuts with the sugar & cinnamon. Set aside.

Make the syrup
1. Combine sugar, water, cinnamon sticks, orange slice and bring to a boil.  
2. Allow to boil for 30 minutes and then add the honey.  Stir immediately to prevent the mixture from foaming over the pot. Skim a bit of the foam off the top and then discard.  
3. Allow the mixture to come back to a boil and remove from heat immediately.
4. Stir in the lemon juice and then set aside to cool.

Assemble & Bake
1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Melt butter and clarify, set aside. If phyllo is bigger than your pan, you may need to trim it slightly. 
2. Using your pastry brush, butter the bottom of your sheet pan. Place 8 sheets of phyllo on the bottom of the pan, buttering in between each sheet, including the top sheet. The goal is not to saturate the phyllo with butter, but to cover the area completely.
3. Sprinkle ¼ of the nut mixture and spread evenly.
4. Top with 2 sheets of phyllo, buttering each sheet.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you have 4 layers of nuts.  After your last layer of nuts, top with another 8 sheets phyllo just as you did in step 2.  Butter your top layer.
6. Using a sharp knife, carefully cut the baklava making 3 cuts lengthwise, and then creating a diamond pattern with diagonal lines.  Be sure not to drag your knife or you will tear the phyllo.
7. Lightly splash the top with a bit of water to prevent the phyllo from curling.
8. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until golden.
9. Immediately pour the prepared, cold syrup over the hot baklava pan and allow it to sit for several hours or overnight.
10. Re-cut the baklava using your previous cuts and transfer each piece into a cupcake liner.

Tips: unbuttered phyllo will begin to dry out as it sits.  If this happens, place saran wrap and a damp cloth on top of the open sheets as you work.