It is not certain who invented baklava though many Eastern European countries claim it as their own. There are some variations as well but I think the recipe is pretty open to all kinds of improvements and/or new ingredients. In my case I simply substituted the walnuts with awesome pecans. Amazingly it can be ready within an hour, so I say it is fast and the sweetness of this damn thing can put you in a hyperglycaemic shock, but it’s all good. 
Anyway, you will need a ton of pecans but you can use walnuts as well if they are more affordable. If you feel adventurous try a pistachios mix, that would be my next project actually. So chop them as big as you want, though I would recommend a bit smaller then I did in my picture, they composition will be more uniform.
Next melt the butter and brush the bottom and sides of the baking dish with it. Place one sheet of phyllo at the bottom of the dish, then butter the top of the sheet. Place another sheet on top of it and brush the top again. Repeat this until you have about 6 pastry sheets.
Sprinkle about a tsp of cinnamon over the pecans and mix them well. Spread ⅓ of the mix over the first set of phyllo sheets.
Brush a phyllo sheet with butter and lay it with the buttered side down over the pecans. Brush the top side with butter and lay another sheet over it and… you get the idea. Repeat until you have another 5 or 6 phyllo sheets. Basically you end up having 3 layers of pecans and 4 layers of phyllo dough but I guess that can be changed if you want. Butter the last sheet as well and using a sharp knife cut the baklava diagonally, or into squares, which ever way you prefer.
Bake it in a preheated 350° F / 175° C oven for about 35 to 40 minutes. Now it is time to make the honey syrup. In a medium sauce pan, add the sugar, water, butter, vanilla extract and honey. Stir well and bring to a boil. After it starts boiling reduce heat to medium low and let it simmer until the baklava is ready, stirring occasionally. When your baklava is done pour your syrup all over it.
Now the bad part about this desert is that you really need to wait for few hours before you destroy it. It really needs to rest so the syrup can get into every little piece. Oh well, patience the reward is well worth it.
Recipe: Pecans Baklava
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Ingredients
- 1 package Phyllo Dough
- 4 cups Pecans, chopped
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1½ Butter, stick-melted
- 1½ cup Honey
- ½ cup Water
- ½ cup Sugar
- 3 tsp Vanilla Extract
Preparation Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350° F / 175° C.
Melt one stick of butter and brush the bottom and the sides of the baking dish. Throw in one sheet of phyllo then butter the top of the sheet. Place another sheet on top of it and brush the top again. Repeat this until you have about 6 pastry sheets.
Add a tsp of cinnamon to the chopped pecans and mix well. Sprinkle about ⅓ of the pecans mix over the first set of phyllo sheets.
Brush a phyllo sheet with butter and lay it with the buttered side down over the pecans. Brush the top side with butter and lay another sheet over it and… you get the idea. Repeat until you have another 5 or 6 phyllo sheets. Basically you end up having 3 layers of pecans and 4 layers of phyllo dough but I guess that can be changed if you want. Butter the last sheet as well and using a sharp knife cut the baklava diagonally, or into squares, which ever way you prefer.
Bake it for about 35 to 40 minutes.
In a medium sauce pan, add the sugar, water, butter, vanilla extract and honey. Stir well and bring to a boil. After it starts boiling reduce heat to medium low and let it simmer until the baklava is ready, stirring occasionally.
As soon as you take the baklava out of the oven, pour the honey mixture all over it
Let it rest for few hours. Sorry!
February 28 2012
