Baklava with Pistachio and Cashew Nut

I  reach for my favorite Mediterranean sweet, Baklava –  happy and feeling naughty all at the same time.  The calories are scary to say the least. However they are so ridiculously  delicious, I just can’t resist them! A little bit of indulgence is a good thing – once in a while. What’s your guilty pleasure?  Please share your food indulgences here.

This  Baklava with Pistachio and Cashew Nut consists of flaky, crumbly, buttery filo pastry, layered with a buttery, nutty mixture sweetened with an  Orange Blossom Water scented Sugar Syrup.

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Baklava with Pistachio and Cashew Nut

Ingredients:

• 350 gms package of Filo Pastry  (see notes for usage instructions)
• 275 gms unsalted Butter
• 200 gms Pistachio nuts
• 100 gms Cashew nuts
• ½ cup Icing Sugar
• ¼ tsp cardamom powder – optional
• For the Syrup:
• 1 ½ cups Sugar
• 1 cup Water
• ½ Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tsp Orange Blossom Water or use Pure Rose Water.
• You will need a shallow baking tray ( 19 cm x 27 cm ) approximately

Method:

For the Sugar Syrup : Prepare 4 hours before hand:

• Add the sugar and water to a heavy bottomed sauce pan.
• Bring to boil on medium heat. Do not stir. The sugar will dissolve on its own.
• Once boiled, add lime juice. Boil for 20 – 30 minutes, tell the syrup is nice and thick.
• Remove from heat and add the Orange Blossom Water.

Melt the butter:

• Add the butter to another saucepan. Melt on very low heat so that there is no burning of butter on the sides of the pan. Remove any foam that forms on top of the butter and use only the clear liquid butter. Set aside.

Prepare the Pistachio and Cashew Nut Filling:

• Finely chop the nuts. You can  do this by hand, although it can take a lot of extra time. I use my food processor. Make sure they are of a finely chopped consistency and not powdery.
• Add ¹⁄3 of the melted butter to a skillet or non stick pan along with the chopped nuts. (Reserve a small portion of nuts for using to decorate).
• Roast over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring till uniformly roasted. Do not allow the nuts to over roast /burn. Remove from heat.
• Transfer to a bowl and add the Icing Sugar and Cardamom powder and toss till well incorporated.

Prepare the Baklava Pastry:

• Preheat oven to 176  º c / 350 º F.
• Using a pastry brush, lightly Grease  the baking tray with some melted butter.
• Unfold the stacked filo sheets, gently. Divide filo sheets into two halves. One half  with slightly more than half the total. Keep the greater stack covered with lightly dampened cloth to be used for the top.
• Peel away one layer of pastry from the lesser stack. If you find you  are taking a lot of time to layer each sheet into the tray, its good to keep the remaining stack of exposed filo sheets with damp cloth as well.
• Line the edges of the tray as perfectly as possible. Fold back the pastry that has fallen out of the tray and press gently to smoothen out.
• Brush the layer with melted butter generously.
• When placing the next sheet,  start from the edge where you have folded over the pastry, so that you can get more uniform layers when the pastry is folded again from the opposite end. Tuck in all the edges to flatten and make neater. If you have a tray the same size as your filo sheets, there is no need to fold.
• (Note that filo pastry is very delicate, and can tear easily- but not panic! It is quite forgiving, just fold over the torn pieces and apply butter to smoothen out.)
• Once you have layered the lesser stack on the bottom, with butter in between each layer, we can add our nut mixture.
• Spread the nuts out with the back of a spoon, gently so that the pastry below is not disturbed. Press gently to flatten, evenly filling the corners well.
• Now, start the first sheet of pastry from the greater stack, brush with butter. Repeat till all pastry sheets are finished.
• Rub butter over the final (top) layer, thoroughly – especially edges.
• Use a very sharp knife, to cut the UNBAKED pastry all around the edges and cut into square or diamond cut sections. MAKE SURE – you cut all the way  through the bottom pastry.
• Place in the oven on the lower rack and bake for 30-40 minutes. Keep checking as oven temperatures can vary. The top should be golden.
• Remove the tray from the oven. While the pastry is hot and the syrup is cool, Pour some of the syrup  (only into the seams / the cut lines). Cover lightly with foil. Once the syrup has absorbed, pour in the remaining syrup. Allow the pastry to completely absorb the syrup, lightly covered. Sprinkle some of the reserved nuts over the top. Allow to rest further till completely cool so that the pastry crisps up again.
• Store in Airtight Tins for up two weeks at room temperature. For longer life, store in fridge – they will be a little chewier.

Baklava with Pistachio and Cashew Nut

• Filo Pastry must be stored frozen. The night before using, place in the fridge to thaw. Allow un opened film package to stand at room temperature for 2 hours before use. Immediately re roll unused Filo Pastry (if any) in plastic wrap, seal and place back in fridge to prevent drying out. Product should be used within 7 days from opening.
• When making the sugar syrup, do not stir the sugar to help dissolve it. This  results in the formation of too many air bubbles, which will mess with the consistency of the syrup. Leave the sugar and water on medium heat, to dissolve on its own to make a perfect syrup.
• You MUST cut the pastry before baking. If you try to cut afterwards you will completely flake the pastry. It does not work. Make sure you have cut all the way to the bottom before baking.

Key Ingredients: Filo Pastry, Butter, Pistachio, Cashew nuts, Sugar, Orange Blossom Water/ Rose Water.

Let us know if you tried it – Baklava with Pistachio and Cashew Nut . Comments from you provide motivation to keep up the driving force behind this blog, bringing you more delicious and perfected recipes regularly. Please do leave a comment. We love to hear from you.