FOODY FRIDAY BAKLAVA

A great home-made Christmas dish you can add to a Christmas hamper is Greek Baklava, requested by my blogger friend Nikki over at Intermittent Babbling. Baklava is a well known sweet in the Mediterranean and Middle-east and is traditionally served in Cyprus with Greek coffee after a meal. There are many different versions, some include almonds, others walnuts or pistachios, or maybe a mixture of all three. I've even heard of people adding semolina. My family recipe involves chopped almonds wrapped in sheets filo and sweetened with a syrupy honey.
gg and I went to my mum's house so I could take pics of her baking the baklava, just in case I missed out any steps or tips as she is the true Baklava baker (",)
Warning- A lot of butter is used in this recipe so be extra careful if you have high cholesterol.

GREEK GHANA MIX BAKLAVA RECIPE

You will need:

• 110g almonds, coarsely chopped
• 75g sugar
• 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
• melted butter
• 2 packets filo pastry (11 sheets in pack)

For the syrup:

• 375ml water
• 250g sugar
• 1 stick of cinnamon
• 4-5 whole cloves
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon rose water

Syrup method:

• Make your syrup first so it has time to cool down whilst you prepare and cook your baklava
• Heat water in a saucepan with sugar, cinnamon and cloves
• Boil for 5 minutes (uncovered)
• Add honey and continue boiling for a further 2 minutes, removing any froth which may form

Baklava method:

• Mix nuts, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl

• Melt butter
• Lightly grease baking tin with melted butter
• Get a sheet of pastry and lightly brush with butter (it's a good idea to keep unused pastry covered with a damp towel to stop them drying out)

• Repeat with 4 more filo sheets remembering to brush in between each layer but leave the fifth sheet un-greased

• Sprinkle all nuts in the middle or use a third of nuts and cover with a layer of greased filo more nuts then filo more nuts then filo to get a layered baklava

• Bring any excess sheets over the top of the nuts

• Cover with 5 layers of greased filo. Make sure the top layer is neat

• Fold any excess pastry underneath to keep the top tidy and brush with any left over butter

• Before baking score with a sharp knife cutting half way down into the baklava to make diamond shaped portions

• Sprinkle with a little water (this stops the top getting crispy)
• Bake in a preheated oven gas 6/400'f/200' for 30 minutes or until golden brown

• Take out of the oven and pour syrup (making sure it is completely cooled) over your baklava

• Get a knife and cut where you scored earlier into pieces

Baklava keeps well in the refrigerator for up to one week. If you're anything like us they won't last more than a day (",)

gg ALTERNATIVE SHAPES

cigars

• Grease 3 sheets

• Add nuts in a row

• Roll into a long sausage

• Cut into sections

• Brush ends of sections with butter to stop nuts falling out whilst they bake

• Bake in oven gas 6/400'f/200' for 30 minutes or until golden brown
• Dip in syrup

scrunchy rolls

• Grease 3 sheets
• Add nuts in a row

• Get long thin rolling pin and roll until whole sausage

• Seal ends with butter
• Squeeze both sides in to give a creased effect

• slide off rolling pin
• Cut into section
• Brush ends of sections with butter to stop nuts falling out whilst they bake
• Bake in oven gas 6/400'f/200' for 30 minutes or until golden brown
• Dip in syrup

Hope you enjoy this as much as we do (",)