Homemade Macadamia & Rose Baklava Recipe

I know I preach healthy eating and all that jazz and 98% of the time I do eat so well but I never ever shy away from indulging in some sweet treats every now and then. I love food and that includes desserts, I have a huge soft spot for Turkish desserts.

I don’t think I have ever met anyone that hasn’t tried baklava before! No one is really sure where exactly this delicious dessert originated from as it has links to Turkey and the Ottoman Empire, Armenia and Greece. If you have ever visited a middle eastern country you may have seen baklava on the dessert list. I’ve only ever tried Turkish and Greek Cypriot Baklava and they are both very similar. Every family will make it different and even use different fillings, however traditionally it is made with pistachio or walnuts. For this recipe I wanted to try something different.

SUMMERS EATING DESSERTS IN CYPRUS

Growing up spending my summers in Cyprus, I was lucky enough to be surrounded by some amazing women who would cook and bake the most wonderful types of meals and desserts. Even if these meals and sweet treats weren’t homemade, someone would know someone else who had a restaurant or a dessert shop where we would get dressed up in the evenings and go out with the whole family to enjoy some tasty dessert and turkish ice cream.

Baklava is probably one of the desserts I love the most. Anytime family members come over to the UK from Cyprus, will always come with boxes full of baklava to share with everyone. In the past I’ve watched both my Nene’s (Grandmothers) and my mum make their own versions of baklava but its been years since I’ve had a family member make them.

So when Buy Whole Foods Online got in contact and asked me to select some of their natural and organic whole foods, I knew one of the recipes I wanted to create was this baklava. I chose Raw Honey, Edible Rose Petals and Roasted Macadamia Nuts.  So one day I called my sister over to be my taster and I made these delicious and beautiful Macadamia and Rose Baklava. You can switch out macadamia nuts for any other nut or even a bag of mixed nuts.

Homemade Baklava Recipe

July 27, 2019

by Pinar

Cuisine Turkish/Greek

Category Food

Serving Size

26-30 squares

Prep Time

1 hour

Cook Time

1 hour

Total Time

2 hours

Ingredients

• For The Syrup
• 350g Castor or Granulated Sugar
• 400ml Water
• 2tbsp Raw Honey
• 1tsp Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
• The Filling
• 300g Lightly Salted & Roasted Macadamia Nuts
• 150g Pistachio, shell removed Leave a handful aside to garnish
• 2tsp Sugar
• 400g Filo Pastry
• 200g Unsalted Butter
• Edible Rose Petals to garnish

Instructions

1. The first thing you need to do is to make the syrup as this needs to be completely cooled before you use it.
2. In a saucepan over a medium heat add the sugar, water and honey and continue to stir until the sugar and honey have completely dissolved in the water.
3. Once the mixture starts to bubble, simmer for around 25 minutes until the consistency is a light and running syrup slightly golden in colour.
4. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
5. In a small saucepan add the butter over a medium heat and leave until the butter has completely melted, do not stir.
6. Remove the saucepan from the heat and using a tablespoon remove all the white froth that has appeared as the milk separates to the top of the butter and set the remains of the butter aside to cool (you can use ghee in replacement if you have it).
7. In a pestle and mortar (in batches is easier) grind down the nuts so they are small enough to smooth, you can leave them crunchy a little like peanut butter.
8. Preheat fan oven to 150 degrees and in a baking dish like a lasagne dish, use a pastry brush to lightly brush the base and sides with the cooled butter and place a sheet of fill pastry to fit the base and sides. Then continue to repeat this process with every sheet of filo, patience is a virtue here. Once you have one packet of filo done smooth on the nut mix and repeat with the second packet of filo with butter in between every layer.
9. Use your hands press it all down to get rid of air bubbles during the layering process to keep it tight and together.
10. Using a sharp knife or pizza/pastry cutter carefully cut out your squares.
11. Bake in the oven for around 45mins to 1 hour or until the top of the pastry started to brown.
12. Remove from the oven and straight away using a ladle carefully pour over the cooled syrup onto the pastry, evenly coating the whole dish the syrup will start to bubble/sizzle as the syrup hits the hot pastry -don't panic it means you are doing it right.
13. Sprinkle over the remaining crushed pistachios and edible rose petals to garnish.
14. Leave to stand at room temperature for a minimum of an hour for the pastry to absorb all of the syrup and soften.
15. You can cover and refrigerate for a few days or enjoy straight away.
16. Baklava is best served with a scoop of ice cream.

Tags

Baking,

Baklava,

Dessert Recipe,

Edible Rose Petals,

Greek Food,

Homemade,

Macadamia Nuts,

Mediterranean Food,

Pistachio Nuts,

Raw Honey,

Recipe,

Turkish Food

https://www.beautybakingbella.com/2019/07/homemade-macadamia-rose-baklava-recipe.html

My homemade Macadamia and Rose Baklavas were a success!

BAKLAVA FOR SHARING

Baklava is best served at room temperature, covered and enjoyed over a few days. You can chill it in the fridge too (it will last a little longer this way). Enjoy with a couple of scoops of vanilla or pistachio ice cream with the whole family. Obviously it goes without saying enjoy in moderation.

This recipe is great to prepare ahead and enjoyed as a dessert after dinner or even at your summer BBQ’s as you watch the sun go down and you unwind from a day of eating and fun with family and friends.

Let me know if you try this baklava recipe and send me or tag me in photos if you share it on social media @pinarcooks.

For more of my family friendly recipes check them out here.

Pinar xo

*this post contains gifted items