Almond Fig Baklava Recipes

GREEK BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.
• Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Cut whole stack in half to fit pan. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.
• Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.
• Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
• Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool. Serve in cupcake papers. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.

ALMOND PISTACHIO BAKLAVA

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, bring 2 cups sugar, water, honey and lemon juice to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes. Cool., Preheat oven to 350°. Working in batches, combine pistachios and almonds in a food processor; cover and process until finely chopped. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in cinnamon, nutmeg and remaining sugar; set aside. Brush a 15x10x1-in. baking pan with some of the butter. Unroll one package of phyllo dough; cut stack into a 10-1/2x9-in. rectangle. Repeat with remaining phyllo. Discard scraps., Line bottom of prepared pan with two sheets of phyllo dough (sheets will overlap slightly). Brush with butter. Repeat layers 9 times. (Keep dough covered with a damp towel until ready to use to prevent it from drying out.) Sprinkle with a third of the nut mixture. , Top with 10 layers of buttered phyllo dough and a third of the nut mixture; repeat layers. Top with remaining phyllo dough, buttering each layer. , Using a sharp knife, cut into 1-1/2-in. diamond shapes. Bake until golden brown, 40-45 minutes. Place pan on a wire rack. Slowly pour cooled sugar syrup over baklava. Cover and let stand overnight.

EASY BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish.
• Toss together cinnamon and nuts. Unroll phyllo and cut whole stack in half to fit the dish. Cover phyllo with a damp cloth while assembling the baklava, to keep it from drying out.
• Place two sheets of phyllo in the bottom of the prepared dish. Brush generously with butter. Sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons of the nut mixture on top. Repeat layers until all ingredients are used, ending with about 6 sheets of phyllo. Using a sharp knife, cut baklava (all the way through to the bottom of the dish) into four long rows, then (nine times) diagonally to make 36 diamond shapes.
• Bake in preheated oven until golden brown and crisp, about 50 minutes.
• While baklava is baking, combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Stir in honey, vanilla and lemon or orange zest; reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.
• Remove the baklava from the oven and immediately spoon the syrup over it. Let cool completely before serving. Store uncovered.

ALMOND BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Syrup:
• Combine ingredients in a microwave-safe container, and cook on high heat 1 minute. Stir and cook 1 more minute. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until cold.
• Baklava:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place almonds in a food processor and process with sugar, cinnamon, allspice and salt until almonds are roughly ground.
• Generously brush a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish with melted butter. Halve phyllo sheets crosswise and stack sheets. Keep stack covered with 2 overlapping sheets of plastic wrap and then a dampened clean kitchen towel. Lay 2 sheets of phyllo in bottom of baking dish and brush top sheet generously with butter. Add a couple of tablespoons of almond mixture. Continue to layer 2 sheets at a time, staggering sheets in each double layer slightly to cover bottom of dish, brushing every second sheet generously with butter and add 1 cup of the almond mixture, until 10 sheets of phyllo have been used, total. Brush top layer of phyllo with butter. Let baklava stand at room temperature to harden slightly, about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Using a sharp knife, cut baklava into 6 equal squares, then cut each piece in half diagonally to make 12 triangles. Be sure to cut all the way through.
• Bake baklava until golden, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Transfer dish to a rack to cool, then slowly pour cold syrup around edges of hot baklava, in between all cuts, and over top. Let stand at room temperature at least 8 hours. Cover when baklava is at room temperature. Do not chill.
• Baklava keeps in an air-tight container up to 1 week.

ALMOND FIG BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 175°C degrees (heat and timing are basing it on convection oven).
• Mix together the chopped figs, almonds. and cinnamon.
• You can use a 20×30 cm pan, brush some butter on the bottom and sides of pan to prevent sticking.
• Lay down a sheet of phyllo dough and brush with butter and water mixture (use the 60 ml water only if like soft baklava), repeat until you have layered 8 sheets.
• Sprinkle some of the fig and almond mixture over layers of dough.
• Repeat both steps until you run out of ingredients. Cover with 2 layers of dough.
• Cut into desired shapes (yes you are cutting before you bake).
• Bake for about 40 to 50 minutes, until top is nicely browned.
• When baklava is done, remove pan from the oven, place on a cooling rack, and cool for 2 hours.
• Make the sauce by boiling 1/2 cup water and adding 1/2 cup sugar, stir until sugar is dissolved, add honey, and vanilla or orange peel.
• Pour the hot syrup evenly over the top of the baklava (remove the orange peel before), allowing it to run into the cuts and around the edges of the pan. Allow the pan to sit, uncovered until completely cool.
• Cover and store at room temperature for at least 8 hours and up to overnight before serving.

FIG AND ALMOND TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter sides and bottom of a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom or a springform pan and set aside.
• For the crust: In a large bowl combine melted butter and sugar and blend with a wooden spoon. Add extracts, salt and flour and stir to form a soft, cookielike dough. Do not let it form into a ball. Transfer the dough to the center of the tart pan. Using your fingers, press the dough evenly onto the bottom and sides. (It will be quite thin.) If using a springform pan, press the dough 1 1/2 inches up the sides. Bake until the dough is slightly puffy and set, about 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle almonds on the crust.
• For the filling: In a medium bowl, combine the cream, egg, extracts and honey and whisk to blend. Whisk in the flour. Starting just inside the edge of the tart shell, neatly overlap the figs, cut side up, at a slight angle. Make two or three concentric circles, working toward the center, and fill the center with the remaining figs.
• Rewhisk the cream mixture and pour evenly over the fruit. Place the tart in the center of the oven with a baking sheet on the rack below to catch any drips. Bake until the filling is firm and the pastry a deep golden brown, about 50 or 60 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

GRETCHEN'S BAKLAVA

Steps:

• You should make baklava at least 24 hours ahead of time -- a week is best. The longer you let the Baklava sit, the better it gets.
• After you have everything gathered and the nut mixture done, you can assemble the baklava in about 45 minutes -- the time before you need to start working on the syrup for the batch in the oven. Use those darn corner and funky shaped edge pieces to test how it's doing or as your private reward!
• Remember that the frozen phyllo dough needs to thaw in the refrigerator for around 6 hours. If you thaw it at room temperature, the individual sheets of phyllo dough will stick together. Once you open the phyllo dough you will want to keep working. Half sheets work better. You can melt all of the butter and keep it in a crock pot on low so you don't have to melt butter as you go.
• Preheat the oven to 300°F
• Combine and set aside walnuts, 1/2 cup sugar, and cinnamon
• Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the bottom and sides of a Jelly Roll Pan (15.5" x 10.5" x 1") with melted butter.
• Open the phyllo dough and layer 6 whole leafs (or 12 half leafs) in the pan, buttering each layer as you go. (The edges will extend over the side.)
• Spread 1 cup of the walnut mixture.
• Cut the remaining phyllo dough in half.
• Layer 8 half sheets -- butter each layer. Each sheet will be an inch or so short, so stagger the sheets from corner to corner to cover the whole pan.
• Spread 1 cup of the walnut mixture.
• Repeat 8 sheets and walnut mixture twice. You will end up with 4 layers of nuts.
• Layer the remaining half sheets on top -- butter each layer.
• Brush the top with the remaining butter.
• Trim the edges off.
• Cut halfway through the layers using the pattern shown. (Note: Do NOT cut from corner to corner.) This is done now since it will be very fragile after it's been baked.
• Bake 1 hour or until golden brown.
• 15 minutes before the baklava should be done, mix 1 cup sugar, water, and lemon juice in a sauce pan.
• Cook sauce over a medium heat, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes.
• Remove from heat, add the honey and vanilla, and stir until well blended.
• Remove the baklava from the oven and finish cutting through the layers.
• Pour the sauce over the hot baklava.
• Cool. Let it sit for at least 24 hours (lightly covered -- but not in the refrigerator) -- longer if you can stand it!
• A nice way to serve individual pieces is to put each one into a muffin cup that has been partially flattened.

EASY BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Place 1 cup sugar, water,& lemon juice in a pan& bring to boil.
• Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Cool.
• Lay out phyllo dough, cut in half& trim to fit a 9 by 13" pan.
• Place 1/2 of dough in pan.
• Combine filling ingredients, and spread over phyllo dough.
• Cover with 2nd half of dough.
• With a serrated knife, cut into triangles.
• Drizzle evenly with melted butter.
• Bake at 350 degrees for appproximately 30 minutes, till golden brown.
• Remove from oven& pour cooled syrup over hot baklava.

APRICOT BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Warm 3/4 cup wine in saucepan and remove from heat
• Add raisins and soak for 2 - 4 hours
• Put apricots in saucepan and cover with water
• Bring to boil and simmer for 40-45 minutes till very tender
• Drain and reserve liquid if any left
• Process apricots in food processor or mash till smooth
• Put in large bowl
• Add drained raisins, reserving the wine
• Mix in white sugar, cinnamon, 1/2 tsp wine (from the raisins), vanilla, brown sugar
• Allow to cool
• Mix in cashews
• Butter a 13X9X2 baking pan
• Open filo sheets and cut to size of pan
• Process one at a time keeping the rest covered
• Brush butter on top of one sheet and place in pan
• Repeat with 10 sheets one at a time and layer them in pan
• Cover last sheet with apricot mixture
• Cover with the next 10 filo sheets buttering each one as before
• Slice through the top layers diagonally to create diamonds
• Bake at 350 for 40 - 45 minutes till brown on top
• Put on rack to cool before adding syrup
• SYRUP
• In saucepan mix honey, water, nectar (reserved from apricots), sugar, vanilla and wine (from the raisins)
• Bring to boil and simmer for 5 minutes
• Allow to cool completely
• Drizzle on Baklava
• Cover and cool for several hours
• Best if cooled overnight

ALMOND-WALNUT BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Combine sugar, water, cinnamon, cloves and honey.
• Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves.
• Increase heat and boil gently until reduced to 2 1/2 cups, about 10 minutes.
• Strain into bowl and mix in brandy.
• Cool completely.
• Nut Filling:
• Toast almonds and walnuts and finely chop in processor.
• Transfer to large bowl.
• Mix in cinnamon and breadcrumbs.
• Pastry:
• Butter bottom and sides of 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish.
• Unroll stacked phyllo sheets, press folds to smooth, and cut crosswise in half.
• Place 1 sheet of phyllo in bottom of prepared dish (k eep remaining sheets covered with plastic wrap and damp towel to prevent drying). Because many brands of phyllo are not long enough to touch both ends of the dish, it may be necessary to stagger sheets to end of dish.
• Brush first sheet with melted butter.
• Top with second phyllo sheet. Brush with melted butter.
• Repeat, using 12 more sheets, buttering each sheet. Sprinkle 3/4 cup nut mixture over.
• Cover with 4 more sheets, buttering each.
• Sprinkle 3/4 cup nut mixture over.
• Cover with 4 more sheets, buttering each.
• Sprinkle 3/4 cup nut mixture over.
• Cover with 4 more sheets, buttering each.
• Sprinkle 3/4 cup nut mixture over.
• Cover with 4 more sheets, buttering each.
• Sprinkle 3/4 cup nut mixture over.
• Top with 18 more sheets, buttering each.
• Brush top sheet generously with butter.
• Cut baklava lengthwise into thirds and make 8 diagonal cuts.
• Top each section with a whole clove. Lightly sprinkle the top with water and bake at 350 degrees in center of oven until pastry is golden brown, about 1 hour.
• Gradually pour syrup over hot baklava and cool completely.