Baklawa

Ingredients

Pastry

• 500 gthin phyllo or Algerian dioul sheets
• 300 gsmen or clarified butter, melted

Filling

• 600 gblanched almonds, coarsely ground
• 150 gcaster sugar
• 2 tspground cinnamon
• 3 tbsporange blossom water
• 60 gmelted butter

Syrup

• 500 ghoney
• 200 mlwater
• 3 tbsporange blossom water
• 1 tbsplemon juice

To finish

• 1blanched almond or a pinch of chopped pistachio for each lozenge

Directions

1. Grind the almonds coarsely, in short pulses, so they stay slightly gritty. A fine paste makes a heavy, pasty filling.
2. Mix them with the sugar, cinnamon, orange blossom water and 60 g melted butter to a mixture that just clumps when squeezed in the hand.
3. Brush a 35 by 25 cm metal tray with smen and lay in 8 sheets of pastry, brushing each one and letting the edges rise up the sides.
4. Spread half the almond mixture in an even layer, press it flat, cover with 4 buttered sheets, add the rest of the almonds, then top with 8 more buttered sheets.
5. Cut right through to the base in a diamond lattice, first in parallel lines 4 cm apart, then diagonally, and press an almond into the centre of each lozenge.
6. Pour the remaining melted smen slowly over the whole surface so it runs down into every cut, then rest the tray 15 minutes so it soaks in.
7. Bake at 160°C (325°F) fan for 45 to 50 minutes, until uniformly deep gold and crisp; if the top browns early, cover loosely with foil for the last 15 minutes.
8. Warm the honey with the water, lemon juice and orange blossom water without boiling, and pour it hot over the baklawa as it comes out of the oven. Leave uncovered for at least 6 hours before lifting out the pieces.

Technique

• Algerian baklawa is almond-based and honey-soaked, not walnut and sugar syrup like the Turkish and Balkan versions, and the perfume comes from orange blossom water rather than lemon.
• Smen, the fermented aged butter of the Maghreb, gives the traditional cheesy, tangy depth. Ordinary clarified butter is milder but perfectly usable.
• Here both syrup and pastry go together hot, which is the Algerian practice for honey syrups; honey is far more viscous than sugar syrup and will not penetrate cold.

Substitutions

• Half almonds and half peanuts is a common household economy in Algeria and changes the flavour less than you would expect.
• If honey is too strong or too costly, use 400 g sugar boiled with 300 ml water and 3 tablespoons of honey stirred in at the end.

Variations

• Baklawa dziria, the Algiers version, is built on a shortcrust-style base rather than layered pastry and is cut in the same diamonds.
• A Constantine version scents the filling with a pinch of mastic alongside the orange blossom water.

Frequently asked questions

What is Baklawa?

Baklawa is a dessert from Algeria: layered nut-filled pastry cut in lozenges, drenched in honey syrup.

How long does Baklawa take to make?

Baklawa takes 45 min of preparation and 50 min plus 6 hr soaking of cooking. The recipe makes 1 tray, 40 lozenges. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Baklawa?

Yes, within limits. Half almonds and half peanuts is a common household economy in Algeria and changes the flavour less than you would expect. If honey is too strong or too costly, use 400 g sugar boiled with 300 ml water and 3 tablespoons of honey stirred in at the end.

What is the most important thing to get right in Baklawa?

Pour the remaining melted smen slowly over the whole surface so it runs down into every cut, then rest the tray 15 minutes so it soaks in.