Pistachio Almond Lemon Rose Baklava Recipes

PISTACHIO AND ROSE WATER SEMOLINA CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit/100 degrees Celsius. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and grease a 9-inch/23-centimeter round springform pan and line with parchment paper.
• Make the candied rose petals, if desired: Whisk egg white by hand until frothy. Then, using a small pastry brush or paintbrush, very lightly paint both sides of each petal with egg white; do this in a few small batches, brushing and then sprinkling the sugar lightly over both sides of each petal. Shake off excess sugar and lay petals on the lined baking sheet. Place in the oven for 30 to 45 minutes, until dry and crunchy, then set aside to cool.
• Make the cake: Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celsius.
• Combine pistachios and cardamom in a food processor. Process until the nuts are finely ground, then transfer to a bowl. Add almond meal, semolina, baking powder and salt. Mix together and set aside.
• Place butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until fully combined, but take care not to overwork it; you don't want to incorporate a lot of air into the mixture. With the machine still running, slowly add eggs, scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times and making sure that each batch is fully incorporated before adding the next. The mixture will curdle once the eggs are added, but don't worry; this will not affect the end result.
• Remove the bowl from the machine and add the dry ingredients, folding them in by hand and, again, taking care not to overmix. Next fold in lemon zest, lemon juice, rose water and vanilla extract and scrape the batter into the pan. Level with an offset spatula and bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean but oily.
• While the cake is in the oven, make the rose cream: Place all the ingredients for the cream in a bowl and whisk to beat everything together for about 2 minutes, until thick. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
• Make the rose syrup: About 10 minutes before the cake comes out of the oven (you want the syrup to be warm when the cake is ready), place all the ingredients for the syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring so that the sugar dissolves, then remove from the heat. Don't worry that the consistency is thinner than you might expect; this is how it should be.
• As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, drizzle all of the syrup over the top. It is a lot of syrup, but don't lose your nerve - the cake can take it! Sprinkle with finely chopped pistachios and set the cake aside in its pan to come to room temperature. Remove from pan and scatter rose petals over the cake. Serve immediately, with a generous spoonful of rose cream alongside. (The cake keeps well for up to 5 days in an airtight container. The rose petals should be sprinkled over just before serving.)

PISTACHIO BAKLAVA WITH HONEY AND ROSE WATER

Steps:

• In a saucepan, heat the water, sugar, honey and lemon juice until it comes to the boil and cook for a minute. Now add the orange blossom and rose waters, boil for a few seconds, and remove from the heat. Allow to cool before using on the baklava.
• Preheat the oven to 200°C.
• Grind the nuts. We want them to be medium-fine - if they are ground too finely, the resulting filling will be very dense. Combine with the sugar and cinnamon, then add the orange blossom and rose waters and mix well. Set aside.
• In a dish (I used one 21 x 28cm), brush the base with a little melted butter, then add a sheet of filo. Brush with butter, then add another sheet. Brush with butter, and continue until you have six sheets of filo in the dish. Add the filling, and spread out. Be gentle so you don't break the pastry. Now add the rest of the pastry, in each case adding a layer, brushing with melted butter, then adding the next. Finish by brushing the sixth sheet with butter.
• Cut the baklava into pieces - long rectangles, diamonds, squares, or whatever whimsical shapes take your fancy. Do this carefully with a sharp knife and make sure to go all the way through to the base. You might want to leave a border of "scrap" baklava where the pastry is a bit untidy at the edges. This means the final result is neater, and as the cook, you get to enjoy this "angel's share".
• Bake the baklava for 15-20 minutes until crisp and golden. When done, remove from the oven, allow it to sit for a minute, then pour the cooled syrup over the hot baklava. Be sure to get the syrup in between each cut. If you see syrup forming pools in some areas, don't worry - it will all be absorbed.
• Allow the baklava to cool fully before serving. Decorate with chopped pistachios and dried pomegranate seeds(**).
• (*) By this, I mean the lightly aromatic rose water. If you have the much more intense rose extract, then use just a few drops and not a whole tablespoon!
• (**) To dry pomegranate seeds - remove the red seeds from the white pith, and spread on a non-stick baking tray. Leave in the oven at 60°C (140°F) for several hours until the seeds are dry. They will remain slightly sticky but should keep their colour and not turn brown.

PISTACHIO, ALMOND, LEMON & ROSE BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Mix the ground almonds and chopped pistachios in a bowl, reserving 3 tbsp of the pistachios to garnish. Stir in the finely grated lemon zest, the 3 tbsp of sugar and 5 tbsp of the melted butter. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Brush the inside of a roasting or baking tin (30 x 20cm) with the butter.
• Whatever size of filo sheets you have, cut them to fit the tin. Lay one sheet of filo in it, butter it, and keep going until you have 6 sheets of filo. Spoon the nut mixture on top and press down with the back of a spoon, like making a biscuit base, then put 8 filo sheets on the top, again buttering each one. Using a sharp knife, cut a diamond trellis on top, then bake in the oven for 1 hr until golden brown.
• Make the syrup by putting the sugar, lemon juice and strips of zest into a saucepan with 250ml water. Bring to a boil, stirring to help the sugar dissolve, then turn the heat down a little and simmer for 10 mins. The mixture will look quite syrupy. Remove the lemon zest and add the rosewater to taste.
• While the baklava and the syrup are still warm, pour the syrup carefully over the pastry. Return the baklava to the oven for 5 more mins.
• Sprinkle the remaining pistachios over the baklava, then leave to cool overnight - so that the baklava can absorb all the syrup. If you're making this for a special occasion, it's nice to scatter over some torn rose petals (they have to be small pieces) just before serving.

PISTACHIO AND ALMOND BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Thaw phyllo dough overnight in the fridge, then bring it up to room temperature by setting it on the counter for 1-2 hours.
• Trim phyllo dough to fit your baking dish so you have approximately 40 sheets. (I use a 9x13) Cover with a damp towel. Make sure you keep the dough covered as you work with each sheet to keep from drying out and become brittle.
• In a saucepan on medium-high heat, combine sugar, honey, lemon juice, cinnamon stick, ground cardamom or pod, orange strips and water. Bring to a boil stirring until sugar is dissolved, then reduce heat and let it simmer for 2-3 minute Remove from heat, let it steep for 10 minutes then strain into a measuring cup or bowl and let syrup cool while preparing baklava.
• Butter a 9x13 pan or any other pan you are using. I clarify my butter for this recipe which is just a personal preference. Melt your butter, let it sit for 5-10 minutes, skim the foam off the top and carefully pour off the clear liquid gold off the milk solids on the bottom. Easy peasy. .
• Chop your nuts either with a knife or by pulsing 10-15 times in a food processor until coarsley ground and put in a bowl. Add the cinnamon and cardamom and stir together. Reserve about 1/4 cup for decorating later.
• Time to start layering and buttering! Depending on your sheet count you need to calculate how many sheets per layer. The number of phyllo versus nut layers are up to you but it's important to have a decent base to hold your nut layers so take that into consideration when calculating.
• For 4 layers of nuts use 1 cup per layer, for 5 layers of nuts use 3/4 cups per layer. Your base should be at least have 8-10 sheets of phyllo. Here's my breakdown for 36-40 sheets of phyllo.
• 8-10 sheets for the base.
• Nuts.
• 4-5 Sheets.
• Nuts.
• 4-5 Sheets.
• Nuts.
• 4-5 Sheets.
• Nuts.
• 4-5 Sheets.
• Nuts.
• 8-10 Sheets.
• Each phyllo sheet needs to be brushed liberally (but not dripping) with butter in the pan before laying the next sheet on top . (Tip: I drizzle butter all over each sheet then brush. I find it makes it easier).
• Chill the baklava for 30-45 minutes as it will make cutting it much easier. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and have the lowest rack in the middle and the second one 2 rungs above that one.
• Cut your baklava into square or diamond shapes. Some people only score the top but I cut right through.
• Total baking time is 1 hour and 15 minutes. Place you pan on the lowest rack for the first 45 minutes, turning the pan half way through. Move it to the higher rack for the last 30 minutes or until golden brown all over.
• Have your cooling rack and syrup ready because you'll be pouring the syrup the second it comes out of the oven. The cooling rack is important as the air circulation underneath as it cools prevents the bottom from getting soggy.
• Take your baklava out of the oven and immediately drizzle or spoon all the syrup all over the top. You'll hear it sizzle but this is a good thing. Put a little mound of the reserved nuts on each diamond.
• Let it sit for at least 8 hours or overnight so all the syrup soaks inches It can be kept on the counter with a tea towel over it or in an air tight container for about a week, but really.who has a pan of baklava last a week!

PISTACHIO BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300.
• Chop pistachios in food processor until finely chopped.
• Add walnuts, 2/3 cup sugar, and cinnamon and process until the texture of coarse meal, pulsing out any lumps. Set aside.
• Lightly fit 1 phyllo sheet in the bottom of a lightly greased 13x9 dish, trimming to fit if needed.
• Brush well with melted butter.
• Continue with 7 more sheets, brushing each sheet well with butter.
• If butter hardens, just microwave briefly to soften.
• Scatter a generous 1/3cup nut mixture over phyllo.
• Add 2 more sheets, brushing each well with butter.
• Add another 1/3 cup nut mixture and continue layering until all nut mixture is used, finishing with a layer of remaining phyllo, brushing each sheet with melted butter.
• Place baklava in freezer for 10 minutes for easier cutting.
• Slice in 2" wide diamond-shaped pattern. (or squares if that is easier).
• At this point it my abe wrapped with heavy duty aluminum foil and frozen if desired.
• Set baking dish on middle oven rack and place a shallow pan of water underneath.
• Bake for 2hrs and 10 minutes or until golden brown.
• Frozen baklava can be baked uncovered the same way for 2 and 1/2 - 3hrs. or until golden brown.
• Combine remaining 2/3 cups sugar, 2 cups water, honey and lemon juice in a large saucepan.
• Bring to boil over high heat, reduce to low and simmer uncovered 20 minutes.
• Pour into spouted measuring cup and cool to room temperature.
• Drizzle syrup evenly over baklava.
• Cool to room temperature, cover loosely with foil and let stand overnight before serving.