Dessert & Baked Goods » Pistachio & Orange Blossom Baklava
Ingredients
Syrup
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup honey
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 10 whole cloves
- zest (orange part only) of ½ orange
- 1½ tbsp orange blossom water
Filling
- 2 cups raw, shelled pistachios, chopped
- 1½ cups walnuts
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 pkg (18 sheets) phyllo dough
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
Special Equipment
- vegetable peeler
- 9" x 9" baking dish
- pastry brush
How-to
Make Syrup
- Combine water, sugar, honey, cinnamon stick, cloves and orange zest in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow to simmer for 15 minutes
- Turn off heat and add orange blossom water. Allow the syrup to cool
- Remove and discard the zest, cloves, and cinnamon stick
Make Filling & Assemble
- Combine nuts and sugar in a food processor and pulse until the nuts are roughly-chopped (about seven 1-second pulses). Alternatively, you may chop the nuts with a knife then combine with the sugar
- Cut phyllo sheets into 9” x 9” squares. Brush a 9” x 9” pan generously, bottom and sides, with melted butter
- Place one sheet of phyllo into pan, butter the top of sheet and repeat until you have 6 sheets of phyllo as a bottom layer
- Spread half of the nut filling evenly over the phyllo. Layer and butter another 6 sheets of phyllo atop the nuts
- Spread the second half of filling over evenly. Layer again with 6 sheets of buttered phyllo
- Place the entire pan into the refrigerator and chill for 10 minutes
Slice & Bake
- Preheat oven to 350º
- Using a ruler, cut into 3” x 3” squares with a paring knife. Cut each square across diagonally, making 2 triangles
- Bake 25 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 300º and bake for another 35 minutes
- Immediately after removing from the oven, strain the syrup evenly over the entire pan. Allow to sit at room temperature 2-3 hours before serving
Thao Rich
Inspired by her mother’s sublime Vietnamese cooking skills and lack of desserts in an Asian household, Thao began baking at the ripe age of seven. Thao eventually traded in her Easy-Bake oven for a real oven and enrolled in pastry school at Johnson & Wales University immediately upon graduation from high school. After honing her pastry skills under a handful of prominent Boson chefs, Thao arrived at Sofra Bakery and Café in Cambridge and held the position of Head Baker. Thao is currently instructing classes at Le Cordon Bleu full time. Eventually, she plans to open her own bakery and café so that she can share the sweet joys of her baked goods with every dessert devotee.
Sofra Bakery and Café
Baklava is an Eastern Mediterranean dessert made with alternating layers of flaky dough and ground sweetened nuts, drenched in a spiced honey syrup. Phyllo dough, pistachios and orange blossom water give this version an exotic flare, but are easy to find in most grocery stores. Pastry Chef Thao Rich shows how easy it is to make this at home so you can wow your friends and family at the next party.
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