Rolled Baklava With Golden Raisins Recipes

ROLLED BAKLAVA

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.

ROLLED BAKLAVA WITH GOLDEN RAISINS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine nuts, cinnamon, cloves, and dried fruit. Add brandy; combine well with your fingers.
• Lay 1 sheet of phyllo horizontally on a work surface; brush with butter. Lay another sheet of phyllo on top; brush with butter. Halve horizontally. Spoon 1/4 cup nut filling over bottom of each stack; roll each, tightly forming long rolls. Transfer to a baking sheet; brush rolls with butter. Repeat with remaining 2 sheets of phyllo.
• Open the package of kadaifi dough, and spread 1 1/8 cups (1 1/4 ounces) on a work surface. Reseal package so dough doesn't dry out. Wrap kadaifi dough all the way around one log; place on the baking sheet. Brush with melted butter. Repeat with remaining 3 logs and kadaifi dough. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.
• While pastries are baking, bring sugar and 1/4 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce the heat, and simmer 3 to 4 minutes. Set aside to cool. Let pastries cool for 5 minutes, then drizzle with sugar syrup and slice into 1-inch pieces.

ROLLED BAKLAVA, BAKLAVA ORTHI

Steps:

• Combine all of the syrup ingredients in a 2 quart stainless saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes. Take the saucepan off the heat, remove the lemon and spices, and allow the syrup to cool to room temperature.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Place the pistachios and 1 tablespoon of the sugar, to coat the nuts, in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Using the pulse method, process them until they are coarsely ground. Be sure not to over process the nuts because they will turn to paste. Remove the ground pistachios from the processor and place in a bowl and set aside.
• In a saucepan, melt the butter slowly on very low heat. Meanwhile, thoroughly combine the ground pistachios, cinnamon, and cloves 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 1 cup of 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. Repeat with remaining sheets, 4 at a time.
• Cut the roll into 2-inch pieces, and dip each into the melted butter and then place on a baking sheet. Place into the oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and with a pair of tongs remove each piece from the pan, dip in the syrup, and place on a cake rack to drain. If the syrup begins to thicken, it can be reheated slightly. Serve in small cup cake cups on a platter.

TOPANGA HONEY ROLLED BAKLAVA

Steps:

• For the honey syrup: Combine the honey, granulated sugar, lemon juice, salt, sliced ginger, anise and 3/4 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
• Meanwhile, for the baklava: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Brush 1 tablespoon of the clarified butter evenly all over a 9-by-9-inch baking pan.
• Melt the 2 tablespoons unsalted butter in a small saute pan over medium heat. Once melted, add the panko and granulated sugar. Toast, stirring often, for a few minutes until slightly golden. Remove from the heat and transfer to a small bowl.
• Add the dates, raisins, brown sugar, orange blossom water, cinnamon, ground ginger and salt to a food processor and pulse until the dried fruit is finely chopped. Add the almonds and process again until just combined. Transfer to a clean work surface and roll into eight thin 10-inch-long logs.
• Lay one sheet of phyllo onto a clean surface and lightly brush with some of the remaining melted clarified butter. Lay a second sheet of phyllo directly on top of the first, brush with more clarified butter and sprinkle with about 1 tablespoon of the panko mixture. Fold the phyllo sheets in half crosswise; place one of the date logs at the short end of the sheets and begin to roll the dough over the date log, continuing until the entire phyllo sheet has been rolled. You will end up with a phyllo cigar.
• Transfer the cigar to the prepared baking pan and lay horizontally. Brush the top lengthwise with some of the remaining melted clarified butter and repeat the process with the remaining phyllo and date logs. You will need 8 cigars to fill the pan. Brush the baklava with some of the remaining clarified butter once again. Using a sharp knife, slice vertically down in three equal sections, creating twenty-four 3-inch pieces. Bake until the baklava are golden brown, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Baste the baklava with the remaining clarified butter at 30 and 45 minutes into the baking time. Rotate the pan 180 degrees halfway through the baking.
• Strain the solids from the honey syrup and discard. Pour the syrup over the hot baklava immediately after removing from the oven and allow to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes to soak up all the syrup.

YIAYIA'S ROLLED BAKLAVA WITH HONEY SYRUP

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!