Walnut Baklawa

Flaky, sweet and buttery, with subtle undertones of rose water balanced with walnuts. The must have at every single family function. Siham's Baklawa. Not baklava, but baklawa. This is the Lebanese pronunciation and the flavour profile is also very Lebanese. Once you try my mum's baklawa, you will not want to eat any other. Once you see this simple method, you're likely to give it a go yourself. 

For the record, this is mum's exact recipe, but even I can't make it as well as she does. Something about Siham's special baking trays or her hands.

Ingredients

Sugar syrup

1.5 cups white sugar

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp rose water

Water

 

Walnut Baklawa

250 g raw walnuts

1 pack of filo pastry (Antoniou brand is my preferred option)

250 g melted unsalted butter (or canola oil if making the vegan version)

50 g pistachio nuts and/ or rose petals for decoration

OPTIONAL extra teaspoon of water, sugar and rose water, mixed together

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Sugar Syrup:

Bring sugar, lemon juice and water to the boil. Put enough water in so that the sugar is covered by about a centimetre. Ensure that the sugar is dissolved. 

Boil for approximately 10 minutes. Test the consistency by drizzling the syrup on a chilled plate. Add the rosewater at the end. For the correct consistency of the syrup, have a look at my knafeh recipe.

Allow to cool completely. This is important. It assists in the soaking process towards the end.

Melt the butter on a low heat, so that the milk solids do not boil and mix in with the pure butter.

Walnut Baklawa

Put walnuts in food processor. Process until fine, with some chunks.

 

OPTIONAL add extra teaspoon of water, rose water and sugar to the walnuts and pulse for a second. This can help to slightly bind the mix (as pictured on the right).

Cut filo pastry in half. Place one half on bottom of a greased square tray, which should be approximately 30x 30 cm and 10 cm deep. (I have doubled the recipe. My tray is double this length). You want the filo to go above the base of the tray's edges by a centimetre or two. This will stop the nuts from touching the pan directly and will prevent them from burning.

Spread walnuts over the filo. Cover with the other half of the filo pastry. You may need to trim the filo so that it fits neatly. Slice lines into the filo, vertically and diagonally, to create diamond shapes. There is no need to cut all the way into thge bottom layer. This may damage your tray and isn't necessary for the butter and sugar to soak through.

Pour the butter/ oil evenly over the pastry. Be sure not to pour the milk solids in (the white part at the bottom of the melted butter). You will be left with black, burnt spots on the surface of the baklawa.

Bake until golden brown and puffed. This takes approximately 45 minutes.

Pour the sugar syrup over the hot baklawa. You should hear a sizzle when the hot baklawa and the cool syrup make contact.

Sprinkle ground pistachio nuts and optional rose petals on top of baklawa. I use a mortar and pestle to crush the pistachios but you could use a food processor or even a rolling pin.

                                                            

                                                 

Allow to stand for 1 hr before cutting and serving.

 

Enjoy!