Lebanese Almond Baklava

This is not the first time i'm making baklava. The famous Middle Eastern sweetmeat has always been one of my favourite dessert. This time i made almond baklava as i always have a full jar of almonds waiting to be used. Eventhough, working with paper thin phyllo pastry can be tricky but trust me the effort worth the end result and frozen phyllo pastry comes handy in the process of making this scrumptious dessert. The almond baklava is totally addictive and i could not stop at one and guess i shall temporarily forget about my calorie counting.



Ingredients

1 package frozen phyllo pastry, thawed
1/2 cup melted butter (for brushing)


For Filling

2 cups coarsely chopped almonds
1/4 sugar
1 tsp cinnamon powder


For the Syrup

3/4 sugar
3/4 water
3/4 honey
2 tbsp orange blossoms water
2 cloves


Methods:

In a large bowl, mix together chopped almond,sugar,cinnamon powder.

Clear the large space of your working kitchen counter and make sure the melted butter, the filling is nearby you. You have to work fast as the phyllo pastry tends to dry off quickly

Unwrap the phyllo sheets and carefully unroll onto the assembly surface. Keep the remaining dough covered with damp towel

Trim the sheets of phyllo to fit the bottom off a 9' inc baking pan. Brush the bottom and sides of the pan with melted butter, lay down a sheet of phyllo and brush with melted butter. Place another sheet of phyllo and brush with melted butter and repeat the step for 4 phyllo sheets. Spread the fillings on top of the phyllo evenly. Place a phyllo pastry on top of the filling and brush with melted butter repeat the same with 4 more layers of phyllo pastry.  Brush the top layer of phyllo with generous amount of melted butter and cut the phyllo stacks with a very sharp knife in a shape of rectangular.

Position the rack in the middle of the oven and place the baking position the rack in the middle of the oven and place the baking pan. Bake in 180' C or 350' F  for 45-50 minutes till golden brown. 

Meanwhile, prepare the sugar syrup by boiling sugar,honey,water and cloves over a medium heat for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and add the orange blossoms water.

Pour the syrup over the warm baklava and let it soak completely for an hour. 


Notes:

• Phyllo pastry tend to dry up fast. Always damp a kitchen towel and lay it over the unused phyllo.

• Brush a generous amount of melted butter over a each layer of phyllo before baking to avoid it from breaking  while baking.

• Orange blossoms water can be purchased from any of middle eastern sundry shops. You can substitute rose water with orange blossoms water