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BAKLAWA (The "king" of Arab pastries)

Greek-style Baklava, which is common in the west, uses honey in the syrup. More typical Egyptian Baklawa does not. Recipes for syrup variations are included here.

2 cups walnuts, finely chopped

1 cup almonds, finely chopped (optional – this is found in Greek baklava)

1 cup sugar

2 cups clarified, melted butter

2 Ts. cinnamon

1 Tb. Orange blossom water (mazahar)

1 package phyllo dough (1 lb. Or 454 gms.)

Syrup (see below for variations)

Mix the walnuts (and almonds if using), sugar, ¼ cup of the butter, cinnamon and orange blossom water, then set aside.

Butter well a 13 x 9 inch baking pan, then set aside.

Taking one sheet of the phyllo dough and place it in the baking dish, then brush with melted butter. Repeat this process until ½ of the dough is used. Then place the walnut mixture of the buttered layers and spread evenly.

Place one layer of dough on the nut layer and brush with melted butter, then continue this until the rest of the dough is used.

Heat the remaining butter, then pour it evenly over the dough. With a sharp knife, carefully cut the pastry into 2 inch squares or diamond shapes. Bake in a preheated oven of 400F for five minutes, then lower the heat to 300F and bake for 30-45 minutes or until the sides are a light shade of brown.

While the baklawa is baking, prepare the syrup and set aside.

2 Syrup Variations (choose one for your pastry delight!)

Egyptian Sugar Syrup or Sharbat

2 cups sugar

1 cup water

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons orange blossom water (optional)

Place the sugar and the water in a pot over a medium heat.

Stir constantly for 10 minutes or until the sugar is thoroughly dissolved.

Remove from the heat, then stir in the lemon juice. Return to the heat and bring it to a boil. Remove again and stir in the orange blossom water ( if using ), then allow the syrup to cool until the pastry is ready.

Greek-style Sugar Syrup for Baklava

1 ½ cups sugar

1 ½ cups water

¼ cup honey

Thinly peeled strip of lemon rind

Small piece of cinnamon bark

3 cloves

2 teaspoons of lemon juice

Place the sugar, water and honey in a heavy pan and stir over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Add remaining syrup ingredients, bring to a boil and boil for 15 minutes. Strain and cool.

After you have made your syrup, it is important that your pastry is cooked through. You can either broil the top of the pastry briefly, to brown it, or you can cover it with foil if you find that the top is browning too quickly.

Once the pastry is finished and lightly browned, spoon the syrup evenly over the hot baklawa. Let the pastry cool for several hours before cutting again into serving portions