Marthas Baklava Recipes

BAKLAVA WITH LEMON-HONEY SYRUP

Steps:

• Syrup: In a small saucepan, stir together sugar, honey, 3/4 cup water, zest and juice, corn syrup, and cinnamon sticks. Heat over medium-high, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high, bring to a boil, and cook, without stirring, until syrup thickens slightly and registers 230 degrees on a candy thermometer. Let cool completely; discard zest and cinnamon sticks. (You should have about 1 1/2 cups.) Syrup can be made up to 1 day ahead and stored at room temperature.
• Filling: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a food processor, finely grind all nuts. Add sugar, cinnamon, and salt; pulse just to combine. Transfer to a bowl.
• Brush a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with butter. Trim phyllo sheets to just fit inside baking dish(each about 8 1/2 by 12 1/2 inches). Lay phyllo flat on a work surface; cover with a damp kitchen towel to prevent drying out. Place a sheet in prepared dish; brush generously with melted butter. Repeat with 6 more phyllo sheets, brushing each with butter before laying down next. Spread 1 cup filling evenly over top, then top with 5 more phyllo sheets, buttering each layer. Spread 1 cup fillingover top, followed by 5 morebuttered phyllo sheets. Spreadremaining filling over phyllo; finishwith 7 buttered phyllo sheets.
• Using a long, sharp knife, cut lengthwise all the way through layers at 2-inch intervals. Makediagonal cuts across strips to form 2-inch diamonds, again cutting all the way through layers. Pierce each diamond with a whole clove.
• Using your fingers, lightly sprinkle top of pastry with cold water (to prevent curling). Bake, rotating dish once, until baklava is deep golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven and recut through all lines. Pour syrup over top, saturating fully; let cool at least 4 hours beforeserving. Baklava can be covered with plastic wrap and stored at room temperature up to 1 week.

GREEK BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.
• Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Cut whole stack in half to fit pan. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.
• Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.
• Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
• Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool. Serve in cupcake papers. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.