The second edition of A.W.E.D., kickstarted by Dhivya of Culinary Bazaar, features Middle Eastern Cuisine. For it, I have made Baklava, that sticky and aromatic sweet featuring an abundance of nuts and honey between layers of fine pastry. It is widely regarded as one of the most well known and popular of Middle Eastern sweets, and I am quite happy to be a fan of it, regardless of it’s exact provenance.

I know quite a few people who would screw their face up at the idea of eating baklava. Too sweet, and too rich, are their usual objections. But if you try making it or if you have bought it from a reputable source, you’d be surprised at how different and elegant it can be. If you don’t mind me saying so, there’s even something incredibly sexy and seductive about baklava. I’ve seen perfumed syrup poured over hot trays of baked baklava; the resulting steam rising between the pieces of baklava causing them to ‘dance’. If these baklava had bellies, I could imagine them shimmying, draped in sparkling pistachio-coloured jewels; smiling, through honeyed lips.

This recipe comes from Belinda Jeffery, who credits it to her mom who loved cooking dishes from all around the world.

Pistachio and Walnut Baklava :
(from Mix & Bake by Belinda Jeffery)

200-250g unsalted butter
500g filo pastry
250g pistachios, finely chopped
250g roasted walnuts or pecans, finely chopped
110g castor sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmet
40 whole cloves (optional)

Honey Syrup :
330g castor sugar
250ml water
120g clear honey
1/2 cinnamon stick
finely chopped zest 1 lemon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
finely chopped pistachios (optional), for sprinkling

Gently melt the butter in a small saucepan over very low heat, then leave it to cool. Once it’s cool, use a spoon to skim off any white scum that floats on top, then carefully pour the clear golden liquid that remains into a jug.

Brush a 32 x 24 x 5cm baking tin with some of the butter. Cut the filo sheets in half widthways and trim them so they’re a similar size to the tin. Cover them with a damp tea towel to keep them pliable and stop them drying out.

In a bowl, thoroughly mix together the nuts, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Line the base of the prepared tin with a third of the filo sheets, brushing each sheet very lightly with the melted butter as you go. You may have to slightly overlap the sheets if they don’t quite fit the tin, and make sure you press them into the corners and sides too. Sprinkle half the nut mixture evenly over the filo and shake the tin gently to even it out. Repeat the layering with another third of the filo and butter, then top with the remaining nut mixture. Layer the remaining filo over this, brushing it with butter as you go, then brush the top with butter too. If necessary, trim and discard any excess filo from around the sides of the tin with a sharp knife.

Put the tin in the fridge for about 20 minutes to firm up the baklava so it’s easier to score. When it’s firm, use a fine sharp knife to score the baklava, right through to the base, into diamonds of whatever size you want. Push a clove, if using, into the centre of each one.

Preheat your oven to 180’C. Bake for about 1 hour or until the top of the baklava is deep golden brown. Check it occasionally and cover it loosely with foil if it seems to be browning too quickly.

Meanwhile, for the syrup, combine the sugar, water, honey and cinnamon stick in a saucepan over high heat. Stir the mixture until the sugar dissolves, then stop stirring and bring it to the boil. Reduce the heat to very low and simmer the syrup, uncovered, for 20 minutes, skimming off any white foam that floats on the surface. Remove the syrup from the heat, discard the cinnamon stick and stir in the lemon zest and juice. Keep the syrup in a warm spot.

When the baklava is ready, remove it from the oven. Cool it on the wire rack for 1 minute, then slowly drizzle the warm syrup evenly over the top. Leave it to cool completely – the flavour is best if the baklava mellows for 12 hours or so before serving.

To serve the baklava, cut down through the score marks to loosen the diamonds, then ease them out. You can leave the cloves in (but remember to take them out before eating a piece because the cloves pack a powerful punch), or pull them out and sprinkle the tops with chopped pistachios, if liked.

It was only after I caught myself licking a slick of lemony buttercream off the wooden spoon that I paused to ponder the sanity behind my decision to sign up as a Daring Baker. Party cake, cheesecake pops and now L’Opera. I mean, what was I thinking?! This can only end one way, and that way is, fatly.

Ah well. Through the miracle of friendly fabrics and prudent shopping, the clothes still fit, and afterall, life is meant to be lived, right? Everything in moderation, I say. So here’s a modest tease of a slice of Opera cake, flavoured with green tea (maccha), lemon and blackberry.

I don’t often find myself eating this kind of cake, but love it for it’s angular beauty and it’s unashamed use of bold flavours, rich buttercream and ganache. This was my first time making an Opera cake that wasn’t dark chocolate and coffee flavoured. The experience was almost.. liberating. To be able to pick from such a wide spectrum of flavours might seem daunting, but I always knew it was going to have green tea as it’s base flavour. Everything else, just seemed to fall into place. 🙂

This month’s DB challenge is dedicated to honorary Daring Baker member, Barbara of Winos and Foodies. To create your own version of L’Opera, you might want to check out the hosts’ and co-hosts’ pages for the recipe. Thanks guys – it was a great and truly indulgent challenge!

Never too young to listen to Mavis Staples.

Never too old to read Shaun Tan.

Never too full for just one teeny tiny TV snack…

Croq-Télé (TV Snacks) :
(makes about 50 cookies; adapted from Patisserie Arnaud Larher, in Dorie Greenspan’s Paris Sweets)

100g blanched almonds
100g sugar
1/4 to 3/4 teaspoon salt, according to taste
140g plain flour
100g cold unsalted butter, diced

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 180’C. Line two baking trays with baking paper and set them aside.

Put the almonds, sugar, and salt in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse, scraping down the sides of the bowl now and then, until the nuts are finely ground, about 2 minutes. Turn the nut sugar onto a piece of wax paper and keep it close at hand.

Put the flour in the work bowl of the food processor and, with the motor running, drop in the pieces of cold butter. As soon as all the pieces are in, switch to pulse mode and pulse just until the mixture looks sandy. Add the nut-sugar mixture and pulse in 3- to 4-second spurts until the dough forms small curds and clumps. Scrape the dough onto a piece of baking paper.

To shape the cookies, pull off small pieces of dough about the size of cherries and squeeze them in your hand to form irregularly shaped chunks. Place the pieces of the lined baking trays, leaving about 1.5cm space between them.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, rotating the sheets top to bottom and front to back after 5 minutes, or until the cookies are set but not really browned. The cookies will still be soft. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 3 minutes, then, using a wide metal spatula, carefully transfer them to racks to cool to room temperature.

The cookies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 1 month.