Topanga Honey Rolled Baklava Recipes

Steps:

• Place rack in center of oven, and preheat oven to 325 degrees. Brush a 9-by-9-inch pan with melted butter. Set aside.
• Combine almonds, walnuts, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• Place one sheet of phyllo on a flat work surface. Brush with melted butter. Fold the long sides in to form a 9 1/2-by-15-inch rectangle. Brush folded edges with butter. Place a second piece of phyllo over first sheet, and gather it like a curtain to fit inside rectangle. Brush with butter.
• Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of the nut mixture over the bottom one-third of the phyllo rectangle. Fold phyllo over to cover nuts. Brush folded phyllo with butter. Spread 1/4 cup nuts in a 1-inch-wide line parallel to, and about 1 inch from, the edge of pastry. Fold over once to cover nuts. Roll like a cigar almost to the end. Fold in ragged edges, and brush them with butter. Finish rolling, and fold ends under. Place seam-side down in prepared pan. Brush with butter. Repeat with remaining phyllo and filling, laying each roll next to the other so they are touching. Cut rolls crosswise into 21 pieces total (drag knife through a second time to assure a clean cut).
• Transfer to oven, and bake until crust and nuts are evenly golden, 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove pan from oven, and cool for 10 minutes. Pour cool Honey Syrup over pastry; it will come about three-quarters of the way up the sides. Let sit until most of the liquid is absorbed and nuts are saturated, about 30 minutes.

Steps:

• Combine all of the syrup ingredients in a saucepan; bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the lemon and spices. Cool and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Combine the almonds, walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, and ground cloves together in a bowl. Take 4 sheets of phyllo dough and brush each sheet with melted butter, layering the sheets as you go. Once the 4 sheets are pressed together, sprinkle the nut mixture over the top sheet and roll, lengthwise, until you reach the end. Keep the roll as tight as possible without breaking. It should look like a long cylinder.
• Cut the roll into 2-inch pieces, dip each into the melted butter and place on a baking sheet. Place into the oven for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. When finished remove each piece from the pan and dip in the cool syrup and place on a rack to drain. Serve in small cup cake cups on a platter.

Steps:

• Coat a 13x9-in. baking pan with cooking spray. Unroll phyllo dough; trim to fit into pan., Layer two sheets of phyllo dough in prepared pan, spritz with cooking spray. Repeat three times. (Keep remaining phyllo covered with a damp towel to prevent it from drying out.) Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons nuts. Top with two sheets of phyllo and spritz with cooking spray. Repeat layering with nuts, phyllo and cooking spray 10 times. Top with remaining phyllo dough, spritzing every other sheet with cooking spray., Using a sharp knife, cut into 30 triangles. Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine syrup ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour over warm baklava. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cover and let stand for several hours or overnight.

Steps:

• You will need a disposable aluminum baking pan that is 19" long x 12" wide x 2" high.
• Mix the ground nuts, zwibeck/bread crumbs and cinnamon together in a large bowl. You will need a 1/2 cup measuring cup for portioning the mixture. Keep mixture close to your workstation.
• Melt the butter and Crisco over medium-low heat and keep close to your workstation. You will need a pastry brush- 2"- 3" wide works best.
• Open the plastic covering of the phyllo and remove. Lay out on a flat surface and unroll so that the entire sheet is visible. It may be wise to cover with a VERY lightly damp towel so that it does not dry out.
• Take your pastry brush and butter the pan- keep near your workstation.
• On a clean surface, start by taking an entire sheet of phyllo and laying it out in front of you with the long side facing you. Butter the sheet lightly and then place another sheet of phyllo on top of it. Butter this sheet.
• With the two sheets in front of you, take the next sheet and place on top with the top of the sheet covering only half of the full sheets. You will have the other half hanging below -this will stay unbuttered for now. Butter the top half and then fold over the hanging unbuttered half and let it rest on top. Butter this layer. REPEAT WITH ONE MORE SHEET OF PHYLLO.
• Using 1/2 cup measure, scoop out a portion of nuts and distribute evenly along the bottom half of the phyllo ( the area where there is now 6 layers).
• Starting at the edge where the nuts begin, roll the baklava tightly so that you have a "tube" that is 19" long and about 1 1/2" wide. Place this tube into the buttered pan, placing it against the side so that there is room for the 7 additional rolls that will join it. Butter the top and side of the tube and move on to your next roll.
• Repeat all steps until you have 8 rolls that fill the pan. Brush the entire top with more melted butter. Run your hand under cold water and sprinkle the water on top of the baklava. You want some water droplets on top but be careful not saturate it with too much!
• Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F while the baklava is in the fridge.
• Take the baklava and with a sharp knife cut the top into pieces- start by "trimming" the end 1/4" then start your cuts from there.
• Each roll can be cut into either 8 or 10 pieces and each roll will need to be cut individually.The cuts should be made at a 45° angle so that the pieces are diamond shaped. DO NOT CUT ALL THE WAY THROUGH- you are simply scoring the pieces 3/4 of the way through.
• Place in hot oven and bake for 45 to 55 minutes- the baklava needs to be a deep golden brown before it leaves the oven.
• Allow to cool completely, uncovered.
• At this point the baklava can be tightly wrapped in heavy duty foil and kept in a cool, dry place for up to 3 weeks.
• Two days before you are ready to serve, the syrup will need to be prepared and poured on top of the baklava.
• Take the sugar and water and bring to a medium boil. Time the syrup for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 5 minutes add the lemon juice and return to a boil- time for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes add the honey and boil for an additional 4 minutes. Take off the heat.
• Using a ladle, put the hot syrup onto the baklava in an even manner, making sure that the entire pan is covered.
• Allow to sit uncovered until bottom of pan is cool, about 2 hours. Re-cover with foil and allow to sit for a minimum of 24 hours but preferably 48 hours. This allows the syrup to absorb into all of the phyllo layers.
• Using a serated butter knife, cut into pieces and enjoy. Be careful if you choose to use a sharp knife when cutting the pieces all the way through- puncturing the bottom of the pan will leave a goody mess behind!
• Variation- use 3 cups lightly toasted ground pecans and 1 cup mini chocolate chips in place of the walnuts. Omit the cinnamon but still use the 1/3 cup of zwibeck or bread crumbs. Finish pieces with a drizzle of melted dark chocolate. YUMMY!

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F, and lightly grease a shallow baking tray.
• Place the sesame seeds in a small, non-stick pan over a medium heat, and cook, while shaking the pan gently, for 3-5 minutes or until golden and toasted.
• Transfer to a bowl, add the walnuts and cinnamon and mix well.
• Brush 1 pastry sheet with the melted butter and fold in half crossways to form a rectangle.
• Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the walnut mixture evenly over the pastry; and starting from one of the long ends, roll it up into a log. Brush with butter. Place on a baking tray; and repeat with the remaining pastry, butter and walnut mixture.
• Bake the baklava for 10-12 minutes or until golden; and then allow them to cool on the baking tray.
• The Honey Syrup: Peel 1 large strip of rind from the lemon, remove the pith, juice half the lemon; then place the lemon rind, lemon juice, sugar, honey, cinnamon stick, cloves and 2 cups of water in a saucepan over a medium heat.
• Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved; increase the heat to high and bring to the boil; reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 10 minutes or until the honey syrup thickens slightly.
• Pour the hot honey syrup over the cold baklava, and stand for 30 minutes or until the baklava has absorbed the syrup. Cut each baklava diagonally into 3 pieces and serve.
• Tip: Purchase phyllo pastry from the fridge not the freezer, as the layers will separate much more easily.