samedi 15 mars 2014

Some Information About The Dessert Called Baklava

By Luisa Sharpe


Baklava is a type of dessert found in the Middle East and Mediterranean that dates as far back as the Ottoman Empire. It is also found in parts of Asia. This dessert is a type of pastry that is incredibly rich and also very sweet. It is often served in very small portions, which could be due to how rich and intense the flavor is.

This dessert is made using numerous layers of filo pastry that are filled with nuts that have been chopped up and topped with a syrup. It is baked in a large pan, but is sliced into smaller portions before it is baked. The smaller pieces are usually diamond, rectangular or triangular-shaped.

It is made by laying down many phyllo dough layers in a baking pan. Each layer is coated with melted butter. The chopped nut filling is placed in between the bottom set of layers and the top set of layers. The filling can be made using walnuts, pistachios or even hazelnuts and almonds. The pastry is finished with top layers of more dough.

The cooked pastry is then covered with a very sweet flavored syrup. This syrup can be made of a number of ingredients, commonly honey and sometimes rosewater or other extracts. Turkish areas further amplify this dessert by eating it with ice cream of a milk cream flavor during the summer months, or a preparation named 'kaymak'.

Across the region where the dessert is common, different ways of preparing it are noted, sometimes with additional or substitute ingredients. One of the reasons for varied methods of preparation is religion. An example of this is how the Greeks prepare it using the same number of layers of dough as the number of years Christ lived.

In Armenia, the dessert is called paklava. Ingredients include cloves and also cinnamon. In Georgia, however, ingredients found in the dessert include sour cream and vanilla amongst others. Albanians prepare their dough with egg yolks. In Iran, the taste of the Persian version is much lighter than in the Middle East.

Phyllo dough can be purchased in most grocery stores, in the frozen section. The recipe for this dessert undoubtedly varies, but it is not difficult to make at all. Place two sheets of dough in a buttered pan and butter them thoroughly. Repeat this process of layering and buttering until eight sheets have been layered. Sprinkle about three tablespoons of chopped nuts tossed with a teaspoon of cinnamon over the layers. Continue to top with two more sheets of dough, butter and then more nuts.

Place about six or eight more layers on top of the final layer of nuts. Use a sharp knife to cut the pastry into diamond shapes and put into an oven that has been preheated to 350 F for just under an hour. When it is finished baking, pour a syrup concoction of boiled water and white sugar simmered for 20 minutes with a tsp of vanilla extract and half a cup of honey.




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