Shereen PavlidesCorrespondent| Burlington County Times
I can be picky when it comes to desserts. Truth is, I prefer savory over sweet and favor cooking over baking, but they’re certain confections that I just can’t live without, baklava being one of them.
It doesn’t have to be a special occasion to make it either; this one’s easy enough to whip together. Warning: a freshly baked batch only lasts one day in my house and we’re a family of four. It’s so good (not to be boastful), we can’t stop at one piece.
Baklava is a Middle Eastern dessert made of phyllo pastry and filled with chopped nuts.
Without the simple syrup it wouldn’t be baklava. It’s the sweetness that makes this dessert and moistens the crumbly, buttered phyllo.
Have you ever had baklava that’s been so sweet it hurt your teeth? And layered so high, you could barely get a bite? When I started exploring my own version, I wanted to give it a new twist using a fresh flavor with less sweetness and bite size, finger friendly.
When I met my Greek Italian husband, Andreas, it was one of the first Greek pastries I learned how to bake. Funny thing is, his Italian mother instructed me on how to concoct it. As simple as this dessert is, with only a few ingredients, it’s more of a craft project rather than baking, repeating a layering process to achieve just the right crispy, nutty treat that’s superbly sweet.
When preparing this dessert it’s extremely important to keep the delicate, paper thin sheets of pasty covered with clean kitchen towels while working or they’ll dry out very quickly. (Please note the recipes’ instructions). Check out my step by step “how to” cooking video for my modern take on Baklava with Orange Syrup on this week’s episode of Cook This! at burlingtoncountytimes.com/cookthis
If your like me and love savory foods but need a sugary fix from time to time that’s not too sweet, then you have to try this one.
Shereen Pavlides is a professionally trained chef, recipe developer, food correspondent and the host of Cook This! with Shereen. Her food blog is at www.TweetandEats.com
