Making Baklava From Scratch For The First Time
31st December 2023 - New Experience Number 50.
Yes, it’s another food experience as I tried making baklava from scratch for the first time.
It was new years eve, I was making a bizarre buffet of things I’d never made before to get my quota of new things tried up to the hallowed fifty-two before the clock struck midnight. As I was busy making lots of savoury things, such as rosemary and sea salt crackers, and a bread wreath, I figured we needed something sweet to go along side it all.
The Recipe For Making Baklava From Scratch
I do love a sticky piece of nutty baklava every now and then for an intense hit of sweetness. It was something I’d never made before and had assumed it probably took a lot of effort to create.
This popular sweet treat often served in Greece and Turkey was much easier to make than I’d anticipated, and I was soon the proud producer of layers of flaky filo pastry sandwiching a mixture of chopped nuts, all soaked in a sweet and sticky syrup.
For this make I used a recipe from The Mediterranean Dish. I’ve used several recipes from the site before. Simple and straightforward to follow, always resulting in something delicious.
Making Baklava For The First Time
Assembling the baklava was a bit like making a lasagne. Layering a couple of sheets of filo pastry, then adding a layer of mixed chopped nuts, and repeating until the top layer of pastry covers it all over.
The pieces needed cutting before the dish went into the oven. The recipe included a helpful video showing how to cut it into the traditional diamond shapes. I played it safe and simply went for squares.
Sweet Syrup
The layered baklava went into the oven to bake. It was only once it had cooked that the syrup was added. Leaving the layers of pastry and nuts in the dish, I poured the thick liquid over the top. It seeped in-between all of the individual pieces, and almost flooded the entire dish. I was surprised how much syrup there was, it looked as though I had put too much on as it appeared to flood the ingredients.
However, the whole sticky dish needed to stand to cool for an hour or so. When I came back to it, the delicious syrup had been absorbed into the pieces of baklava. It was a messy job taking the pieces out of the baking dish to make them more presentable. They were extremely gooey.
The Taste Test
My presentation was lacking as I was a bit pushed for time. However, the responses as people devoured the soft and gooey finger licking square of sweet and nutty delight were amazing. Everyone who joined us for new year’s eve indulged in a scrumptious square or two with a big lick of the lips.
Want To Try It Yourself?
There are lots of different baklava recipes available in books and on line.
To use the same recipe that I followed, take a look at The Mediterranean Dish How To Make Baklava.
Cost Of Experience
- Of course this will depend on where you shop.
- If you need to buy all of the ingredients from scratch, it will probably cost around £21 and make approximately 24 pieces. You’ll have a surplus of some ingredients which you can use in other makes and bakes.
Recommendations
Making baklava is much easier than you might initially think. If you aren’t particularly confident in the kitchen, this is a good dish as it is straightforward to make with impressively delicious results.
Don’t worry if you think you’re putting too much syrup on, it will absorb into the layers.
Thankfully baklava keeps well for a few days. It’s a good job as it is incredibly rich and sweet so best not to eat too much of it in one sitting.
Make sure you’re not giving baklava to anyone with nut allergies.
The Mediterranean Dish recipe that I followed helpfully suggested adding cinnamon a bit at a time, it’s a good tip to follow.
This is not the healthiest of things to make, you may be surprised by some of the quantities you’re adding, but it’s worth it for an occasional treat.
This recipe used ready made filo pastry, however you could try making your own if you want more of a culinary challenge.
- Don’t forget to take some pictures and let me know how you get on.