Walnut Cinnamon And Halloumi Baklava Recipes

WALNUT, CINNAMON AND HALLOUMI BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit/240 degrees Celsius. Mix together all the ingredients for the filling and set aside.
• Place one sheet of pastry in an 8-by-8-inch/20-by-20-centimeter baking pan, preferably one with low edges, arranging the pastry so the sides of the sheet rise up the sides of the pan. Brush with a little butter and continue in the same way with 7 more sheets of pastry, brushing each with butter, until you have layered 8 sheets of pastry.
• Scatter the grated halloumi on top of the pastry and then sprinkle all of the walnut mixture over evenly. Place another layer of pastry on top, pressing down securely. Brush with more butter and continue with the remaining 7 layers of pastry in the same way. Brush the final layer with butter and use your fingers to gently tuck the pastry edges underneath the baklava so you get a neat edge (a bit like making a bed).
• Using a small sharp knife, cut the baklava into 9 or 16 pieces, allowing the knife almost to reach the bottom, but not quite. Transfer to oven and bake for 18 minutes, turning the pan around halfway through baking until baklava is dark golden-brown and crisp on top.
• While the baklava is baking, make the rose water syrup: Heat sugar and 1/3 cup/90 milliliters water in a small saucepan on a medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, swirling every once in a while until the sugar has dissolved and started to boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add lemon juice and rose water and let simmer gently for 6 to 7 minutes, until you have about 3/4 cup/180 milliliters of slightly thickened syrup left. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• As soon as the baklava has been removed from the oven, pour two-thirds of the syrup over it and sprinkle with rose petals, crushing them slightly as you go. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly, and then serve each slice warm, with an extra 1 or 2 teaspoons of syrup drizzled on top.

CINNAMON-WALNUT BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with butter; set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine 3 cups sugar, lemon juice, and 1 1/2 cups water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer until sugar dissolves and mixture is syrupy, about 10 minutes. Set syrup aside.
• In a food processor, pulse walnuts with cinnamon and remaining 1/2 cup sugar until finely ground. Set walnut filling aside.
• Place stack of thawed phyllo sheets on a work surface. Using a sharp knife, trim stack into a 13-by-9-inch rectangle; discard trimmings. Place 1 sheet of trimmed phyllo in prepared baking dish (keep remaining sheets covered with a damp cloth or paper towel). Brush gently with butter; repeat with two more sheets of phyllo, laying each on top of the other. (You now have a 3-sheet stack of buttered phyllo.)
• Sprinkle phyllo stack in dish with 1/3 cup walnut filling. Repeat with 7 more buttered phyllo stacks, sprinkling each with walnut filling. Top with one more stack; brush generously with butter.
• Using a sharp knife, cut unbaked baklava into 24 squares. Bake until puffed and golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack; pour syrup over baklava. Let stand at room temperature until syrup is absorbed, at least 3 hours.

WALNUT BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and lightly grease a large, shallow baking tray.
• Chop the nuts or grind them in a food processor, as coarse or fine as you like. You could also use a mixture of walnuts, pistachios, almonds or even dried fruit! Combine in a bowl with the sugar and cinnamon.
• Working quickly so the pastry doesn't dry out, unwrap half of the sheets and lay them across the baking tray, folding in any excess. Brush with a light layer of the melted butter/margarine, enough to moisten but not soak.
• Then add the nut mix, followed by the rest of the pastry sheets, and another layer of butter. Fold the whole thing over on itself so it's double in thickness, and brush the surface with more butter.
• Bear in mind you may not need to use all of the nut mix or butter! If you have any spare nuts left over they can always be sprinkled over the top after cooking.
• With a sharp knife, make criss-cross incisions in the baklava so you end up with about diamond shapes, each just under an inch in diameter. This is only a rough approximation mind!
• Note: do NOT cut all the way through the pastry, only about 2/3 of the way. This is so that the syrup (when added) will soak through all the layers and not just make a soggy mass at the bottom.
• Place the tray on the top shelf of the oven and bake for 15-20min, or until the top layer is golden brown. Keep an eye on it!
• Meanwhile, make the syrup. I have only given a rough approximation of quantity but the important thing is the ratio of sugar to water is at least 1.5:1. Put both in a saucepan and heat very slowly. I like about a teaspoon of rosewater but add in tiny quantities to taste.
• Allow the syrup to boil for no more than 2 minutes to avoid the sugar crystallizing when cool. Take off the heat if need be.
• When the baklava is done, remove from the oven and immediately pour over the hot syrup, followed by any other toppings you like. Leave to cool, then cut fully into squares, and store in a pretty tin or airtight container.
• Baklava should keep for a couple of weeks; some people like it straight away but I prefer mine after a day or two, when it's a little... ehr... 'sweaty' :D Enjoy!

WALNUT BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Mix together the walnuts, sugar and cinnamon.
• Select a pan the size of the phyllo sheets and brush well with melted butter.
• Use 4 sheets of phyllo for the bottom layer, brushing each one with butter before adding the next, and top with a sheet of unbuttered phyllo.
• Sprinkle with a handful of the walnut mixture.
• Cover with a buttered sheet, an unbuttered sheet, and another sprinkling of walnuts.
• Repeat until the ingredients are used up, reserving 5 sheets of phyllo for the top layer.
• Brush each of the top 5 sheets with ample butter, and pour the remaining butter over the top of the last sheet.
• Trim the edges if necessary, and cut the baklava into the traditional diamond pattern.
• Do not cut through the bottom layer.
• Sprinkle the top of the baklava lightly with water from your fingertips.
• Bake in a preheated 250°F (120°C) oven for about 1 hour.
• Remove from oven and cool.
• For the syrup, combine the sugar and water in a large pot and boil for 5 minutes.
• Add the honey, cinnamon stick and cloves, and boil for 5 minutes more.
• Pour the hot syrup over the cooled baklava.
• Do not pour over a hot baklava, it will turn soggy.
• Cool then cut through the bottom layer of phyllo following the previous cuts.

WALNUT BAKLAVA

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the walnuts, sugar and cinnamon; set aside. Grease a 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish with some of the melted butter. Unroll phyllo dough sheets (keep dough covered with plastic wrap while assembling). , Place one sheet of phyllo in baking dish; brush with butter. Top with a second sheet; brush with butter. Fold long ends under to fit the dish. Sprinkle with about 1/4 cup nut mixture. Repeat 18 times, layering two sheets, brushing with butter and sprinkling with nut mixture. Top with remaining dough; brush with butter. Cut into 2-in. diamonds with a sharp knife. , Bake at 350° for 45-55 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine the syrup ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Pour over warm baklava. Cool on a wire rack.

WALNUT-AND-HONEY BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a food processor, pulse walnuts, cinnamon, and 1/2 cup sugar until finely ground.
• In a medium saucepan, heat 1 cup water and remaining 1 1/4 cups sugar over medium-high; bring to a boil. Immediately reduce to a simmer; cook until slightly thickened and sugar is dissolved, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in honey. Let syrup cool completely.
• Brush a 12-by-2-inch round cake pan with butter. Trim each phyllo sheet into a 13-inch round (cover with plastic and a damp towel as you work). Carefully layer 7 phyllo sheets in pan, brushing butter between each layer. Sprinkle one-third of nut mixture over top. Repeat process twice more, brushing butter between each layer. Top with remaining 7 phyllo sheets, brushing butter between each layer.
• Generously brush top layer with butter. Using a sharp knife with a very thin blade (such as a boning knife), cut baklava into quarters, cutting through all phyllo layers. Halve each quarter to create 8 equal wedges. Working within one wedge at a time, make two straight cuts, 1 inch apart, parallel to one side of wedge. Make two more cuts, parallel to opposite side of same wedge, creating a diamond pattern. Repeat process in remaining 7 wedges.
• Bake until deep golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven; pour syrup over baklava. Let cool completely before serving.

HAZELNUT BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, pulse together skinned hazelnuts, almonds, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt until finely ground.
• On a large surface, unfold phyllo dough, removing plastic wrapping. With a sharp knife, slice dough in half crosswise, forming two 9-by-12-inch rectangles. Cover entirely with one or two damp dishcloths.
• With a pastry brush, generously brush bottom of a 9-by-12-inch baking pan with clarified butter. Carefully place one phyllo sheet in pan (it should just fit) and brush with butter. Repeat with 7 more phyllo sheets, brushing each sheet with butter. Keep unused phyllo covered as you work. Sprinkle about 1/3 of nut and sugar mixture evenly over top layer. Repeat layering process with phyllo, continuing to brush each sheet with butter, until you have stacked on 6 more sheets. Sprinkle another 1/3 of nut and sugar mixture evenly over top layer. Repeat layering process with phyllo and melted butter, using another 8 phyllo sheets. Sprinkle final 1/3 of nut and sugar mixture over phyllo. Cover with two more sheets of phyllo, leaving top layer unbuttered.
• Placing your palms in center of top layer, gently move your hands in an outward, sweeping motion, flattening and smoothing top of pastry. Brush an additional 1/4 cup melted butter evenly over top layer.
• Using a sharp pointed knife, carefully slice baklava into 2-inch-thick diagonal strips. Repeat in opposite direction, forming a diamond pattern. Bake baklava until golden and flaky, 50 to 60 minutes, rotating pan as necessary to ensure even baking.
• Meanwhile, in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine honey syrup ingredients with 3/4 cup water. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally, and cook until sugar has completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. Transfer syrup to a bowl and refrigerate, stirring occasionally, until cool. Once cooled, strain mixture into a liquid measuring cup with a spout.
• While baklava is still very hot, pour cooled syrup into cracks between diamond-shaped pieces, reserving about 3 tablespoons syrup. Drizzle reserved syrup evenly over top of baklava. Let cool on a wire rack for 2 hours, then cover with foil and let sit at least 4 hours or overnight before serving.