Baklava is a traditional Turkish dessert that is rich and made with filo pasty, pistachio nuts, butter and syrup. It’s a Turkish favorite and surprisingly it’s really easy to make. You don’t need to be a master chef to make baklava but you’re friends will think you are. This particular variety of Baklava comes from Gaziantep which is known as the Baklava capital of Turkey.

Recipe for Baklava

How to make baklava

Ingredients

Syrup Ingredients

Making Antep Baklava Custard

1. In a small saucepan, boil the milk and semolina for about 10 minutes and put aside to cool.

Making sugar syrup for Baklava

1. To make the syrup boil the water, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan for about 30 minutes over a medium heat until it gets syrupy.

Boiling Sugar Syrup

Semolina Custard

Baklava Preparation

Baklava Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees.
2. In another saucepan, melt half the unsalted butter. Cut the pastry to fit into the size of the baking tray in which you are using.
3. Taking one sheet at a time, place into the tray and butter them together. Repeat the process until you have used half the pastry.
4. Using a butter knife evenly spread the cooked semolina mixture onto the pastry, then cover with pistachio.
5. Cover the pistachios with any leftover cut pastry.
6. Continue the layering with the remaining filo pastry, again ensuring you brush each sheet with butter.
7. Cut the baklava into diamonds.
8. Melt the remaining butter and pour over the top.
9. Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown.
10. Cut through the pastry again along the diamond shapes while hot and leave to cool.
11. Pour cool syrup over the hot baklava with a ladle.
12. Leave to cool and serve.

Semolina Custard

Walnut Baklava Filling

Uncooked Baklava

Note: Images show walnut rather than pistachio.

Baklava Variation: If you don’t have pistachios, you can use almonds, walnuts or hazelnuts.

Makes a full tray.

Find more delicious free Turkish recipes

Cook’s Tips

1. For an airy and crisper baklava, after every third sheet, softly sprinkle pistachio. This allows the air through the layers when cooking.
2. A splash of lemon will stop the syrup from crystallising once it cools.

Baklava

By Reyhan Yesilnacar on 02/25/2012

Baklava is a traditional dessert that is rich and made with filo pasty, pistachio nuts, butter and syrup.

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 50 minute

Ingredients:

• Filo Pastry, Pistachio

Reyhan