Baklava is an oriental sweet, which was begun to be baked by the ancient Assyrians. It consists of many layers of thinly rolled dough with nut filling. And her recipes are present in Turkish, Greek, Bulgarian, Albanian, Persian and Armenian cuisine. In today's publication will be considered the most popular cooking options for this famous dessert.
Basic principles
Having found out what baklava is, you need to deal with the nuances of its preparation. The basis for creating this dessert is butter, yeast-free, puff or shortcrust pastry. It is rolled out in thin layers and smeared with a filling consisting of chopped nuts, spices and sweet syrup. Cakes processed in this way are laid out on top of each other, cut into rhombuses and baked for thirty or forty minutes.
At the next stage, the browned baklava is soaked in sweet caramel liquid, cooked from water, spices, sugar and honey. After that, it is returned to the oven for a short time, then it is cooled and served with tea, coffee or milk drinks.
Shelf life of baklava is 30 days, if it is properly cooked. Keep it in a cool place. Over time, it can be sugared at the edges. But as a rule, the delicacy is eaten much earlier than this period.
With almonds and pistachios
In the composition of baklava made according to the method described below, there is already ready dough. Therefore, you do not have to spend extra time kneading it. To bake a fragrant oriental dessert on your own, you will need:
- 150 g of crystalline sugar (of which 25 g to the filling).
- 100 g unsalted peeled pistachios.
- 125 g of melted butter (of which 75 g to the filling).
- 100 g almond flakes.
- 100 ml filtered drinking water.
- 1 pack of filo dough.
- 2 tsp rose water.
- ½ tsp lemon juice.
The previously thawed dough is divided into eight pieces and alternately laid out in a refractory form, covered with a filling made of chopped pistachios, almond flakes, sugar and melted butter. All this is cut into diamonds and sent to a moderately heated oven. But before that, the resulting workpiece must be lubricated with the remaining oil. After 30 minutes, the browned baklava is watered with syrup, cooked from sugar, lemon juice, plain and pink water.
With prunes
This delicious baklava is also quite useful. Therefore, it can be prepared specifically for a children's holiday. To do this, you will need:
- 100 g of oil.
- 1 pack of yeast-free puff pastry.
- ½ cup nut mixture.
- 3 cups prunes.
- 1 cup of sugar.
- 1 cup raisins.
- 1.5 cups peeled walnuts.
- 1/3 cup of water. (+1 tbsp. L.).
- 1 egg yolk.
- 3 tbsp. l honey.
Pre-thawed dough is divided into four identical parts. Each of them is rolled out in a thin layer and laid on top of each other in a heat-resistant form, greased with melted butter and sprinkled with a mixture of chopped nuts, dried fruits and sugar. The top of the product is treated with yolk, diluted with 1 tablespoon of water. The finished cake mix is cut into diamonds and baked at 170 ° C. After 40 minutes, the browned baklava is soaked in syrup, cooked from honey, water and half a glass of sugar.
With cinnamon and raisins
Fans of oriental delicacies will surely enjoy this delicious dish. Baklava, which contains cinnamon and raisins, is very aromatic and healthy, which means that it can be offered even to small sweet tooth. To bake it you will need:
- 500 g of storeless yeast puff pastry.
- 150 g of raisins.
- 300 g of nuts.
- 50 g of powdered sugar.
- 3 g of cinnamon.
- 2 eggs.
- 1 sachet of vanillin.
- 3 tbsp. l honey.
Thawed dough is divided into three pieces and thinly rolled. The first is laid out on an oiled baking sheet and processed with a brush, which was dipped in whipped proteins, combined with powdered sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. All this is sprinkled with chopped nuts and raisins. Pre-baked cake is laid on top, greased with proteins, and then covered with the remaining filling and the third sheet of dough. The resulting product is cut into diamonds and treated with egg yolks. Baklava is baked at a moderate temperature for no longer than 45 minutes. When it is browned, it is removed from the oven and poured with liquid honey.
With pita bread and condensed milk
Those to whom guests often come will surely find this simple baklava recipe useful. At home, it can be quickly prepared from existing products that are very different from the classic set. To make a variation of a popular oriental dessert without unnecessary trouble, you will need:
- 170 g peeled walnuts.
- 2 pita bread.
- 2 tbsp. l butter.
- ½ cans of boiled condensed milk.
- Powdered sugar or honey (to taste).
Lavash is lapped and spread with melted butter. Cooked condensed milk and chopped nuts are evenly distributed on top. All this is twisted with a roll, re-lubricated with oil and baked at a moderate temperature for about twenty minutes. Ready dessert is sprinkled with powdered sugar or poured with honey, and then served to the table.
With pistachios
The basis of this Turkish delicacy is homemade dough mixed with yogurt. Therefore, the process of its preparation takes a little more time and effort. To treat your relatives with baklava with pistachios, you will need:
- 250 g of butter.
- 300 g crushed pistachios.
- 10 g of baking powder.
- 3 cups of wheat flour.
- 4 cups of drinking water.
- 4 cups of sugar.
- 1 cup of starch.
- 1 cup rice flour.
- 1 egg
- ½ lemon.
- ½ cup yogurt and vegetable oil.
Sifted wheat flour is combined with a baking powder. All this is supplemented with eggs, yogurt, water and vegetable oil, and then knead and divide into thirty parts. After half an hour, each piece is rolled out in a thin layer and stacked on top of one another, sprinkled with starch and rice flour. The resulting stack is divided into three parts and treated with a rolling pin. One of the layers is placed in a mold and smeared with melted oil. Top it all sprinkled with chopped pistachios and cover with a second piece of dough. Layers alternate until all components are used up. At the next stage, the semi-finished product is cut with diamonds or squares and sent to the oven. Bake it at 150 ° C for about 45 minutes. The finished baklava is poured with a syrup made from water, sugar and lemon juice, and left to soak.
On sour cream
Fans of pastry made from shortcrust pastry should definitely replenish their culinary treasury with an unusual baklava recipe. At home, you can easily make such a dessert, especially if you have everything you need at hand. In this case, you will need:
- 250 g sour cream.
- 100 g butter.
- 3 cups flour.
- 2.5 cups chopped walnuts.
- 2 cups of sugar.
- 1 egg
- 4 tbsp. l honey.
Soft butter is combined with sour cream and mixed, gradually adding flour. The resulting dough is divided into four equal pieces and placed in the refrigerator. After about twenty minutes, each part is rolled out in a rectangle and alternately laid in a heat-resistant form, covered with a filling of chopped nuts, sugar and three large spoons of honey. At the next stage, the future baklava is greased with a beaten egg, decorated with nuts and baked at a moderate temperature. For 15 minutes it is treated with a brush, which is dipped in the remnants of honey, and briefly returned to the oven. Before serving, the dessert is cut into rhombs or squares.
With milk and mineral water
Since today every child knows what baklava is, most mothers often have to cook it for their little sweet tooth. To bake a popular oriental dessert you will need:
- 250 g of white wheat flour.
- 3 g of granular yeast.
- 125 g of powdered sugar.
- 180 g peeled walnuts.
- 75 g of natural flower honey.
- 175 g unsalted creamy mala.
- 50 ml of mineral water.
- 75 g of thick non-acidic sour cream.
- 3 g of sugar.
- 2 eggs.
- ½ tsp cinnamon.
- Salt and vegetable oil.
The preparation of real baklava should begin with the processing of yeast. They are combined with sugar, diluted in warm milk and briefly left aside. After about ten minutes, the resulting solution is introduced into a container in which there is already one egg, sour cream, flour, salt and 25 g of melted butter. Everything is intensively mixed, covered with cling film and put away in the heat for an hour and a half.
After the specified time, the risen dough is divided so that it turns out 11 identical parts and 1 larger piece. The latter is distributed along the bottom of a greased form, greased with melted butter and covered with a filling made from 130 g of chopped nuts, powdered sugar and cinnamon. Layers of dough and filler alternate until all ingredients are used up. At the next stage, the future baklava is smeared with a beaten egg, cut into rhombs, decorated with the remaining nuts and baked at standard temperature. After a quarter of an hour, it is poured with ghee and returned to the oven for another 25 minutes. At the end of the process, the dessert is supplemented with a syrup made from honey and mineral water.
With cardamom and saffron
For those who have a general idea of what baklava is, it will be useful to learn how to prepare the Azerbaijani version of this delicacy. To do this, you will need:
- 500 g of ordinary cane sugar.
- 700 g of white wheat flour.
- 300 g peeled walnuts.
- 170 g unsalted butter.
- 500 ml pasteurized cow's milk.
- 3 raw chicken eggs.
- 1.5 tsp saffron.
- ½ tsp. cardamom and dried granular yeast.
- Salt and protected water.
Sequencing
First you need to do the test, which will subsequently become the basis for baklava with nuts. For its preparation, warmed milk is combined with saffron, brewed in a small amount of water, and yeast. All this is supplemented with flour, two eggs and 100 g of butter, and then thoroughly knead and kept warm for at least three hours.
The fully prepared dough is divided into ten parts, rolled into thin layers and laid out in a greased form, not forgetting to cover each of them with a filling consisting of chopped nuts, cardamom and 300 g of sugar. At the next stage, the future baklava is smeared with the remaining butter and beaten egg. Bake it at a temperature of 160 ° C for an hour. The finished dessert is poured with thick warm syrup made from 200 ml of drinking water and 200 g of granulated sugar.
With soda
Having found out what baklava is, you need to find out how to cook it from homeless yeast dough. To bake such an oriental dessert you will need:
- 350 g unsalted butter.
- 300 g of thick non-acidic sour cream.
- 2 cups of walnuts.
- 4 cups white wheat flour.
- 2.5 cups of sugar.
- 4 eggs.
- 1 tsp baking soda.
- 2 tsp flower liquid honey.
Cooking algorithm
Pre-sifted flour is combined with pieces of butter and frayed thoroughly. The resulting crumb is supplemented with soda, sour cream and egg yolks. All intensively knead, wrap with cling film and put in the refrigerator.
After an hour, the finished dough is divided into four parts and rolled out into thin layers. Each of the pieces is alternately laid out in a heat-resistant form, covering with a layer of the filling, consisting of ground nuts, egg whites and sugar. Baklava is baked at a temperature of 200 ° C for about fifty minutes. Shortly before the completion of the process, it is watered with melted butter mixed with natural liquid honey.
With raisins
Using the technology discussed below, a very tasty puff baklava is obtained, the shelf life of which is very small in comparison with other options. Therefore, you need to cook it as much as you can eat in a few days. To do this, you will need:
- 1 kg puff yeast-free dough.
- 1 cup regular cane sugar.
- 1 cup peeled walnuts.
- 1 cup light pitted raisins.
- 2 raw chicken eggs.
To cook the syrup, which will be poured baklava, you will additionally need:
- ½ cup fine white sugar.
- ¼ glasses of drinking water.
- 1 tbsp. l liquid flower honey.
- Fresh lemon juice.
Thawed dough is cut in half and rolled into thin layers. One of them is placed in a heat-resistant form and covered with a filling made of whipped proteins, sugar, steamed raisins and chopped nuts. The remaining piece of dough is placed on top and processed with a culinary brush dipped in shaken egg yolks. All this is cut into neat rhombuses and sent to the oven. Bake the product at 170 ° C until lightly browned. As a rule, 40 minutes is quite enough for the egg filling with nuts to dry, and the dough to exfoliate and become covered with a shiny golden crust. The finished baklava is poured with thick warm syrup, cooked from filtered water, sugar, liquid honey and a few tablespoons of lemon juice. They serve it in a cooled form with a mug of aromatic tea or a cup of strong coffee.