For everyone that has had BAKLAVA, you know it’s very rich, and that you can only eat a small amount. Well, I found this recipe for “Bacon Baklava”, and I knew that it would be SINFULLY DELICIOUS! And trust me, you will need to repent for this dessert because it is just THAT sinfully good!!
Baklava is a rich, sweet dessert pastry made of layers of phyllo dough filled with chopped nuts and sweetened and held together with syrup. No one can say for sure, but it is believed to have been derived from a second century dated recipe in the Ottoman Empire. The Greeks and Turks still argue over who made it first.
How can those delicate layers of pastry and nuts possibly be improved upon, except with bacon? The adage that bacon makes everything better definitely applies here! The directions for Bacon Baklava are easy to follow. But I suggest that you read them a couple of times before you start. Baklava tends to be on the tricky side anyway.
Phyllo dough can seem scary at first. But, once you understand that the sheer quantity of layers will mask the flaws of any individual sheet, you will gain confidence. Just imagine crunching into buttery layers of salty bacon, sweet maple syrup and crunchy nuts. It’s like a dessert party in your mouth, Greek-style! Orange flower water and rose water are available at gourmet shops and Mediterranean markets.
Everyone will love this sweet and sticky dessert!
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Bacon Baklava
Course: DessertsCuisine: MediterraneanDifficulty: Easy4
servings30
minutes30
minutesIngredients
1/2 lb 1/2 raw walnut pieces
1/2 lb 1/2 raw pistachio meats
1 cup 1 cooked and crumbled bacon (about 12 slices)
1/3 cup 1/3 sugar
1 tsp 1 ground cardamom
1 1/4 cup 1 1/4 unsalted butter, melted
1 pkg 1 phyllo dough, thawed
1 cup 1 water
1 cup 1 sugar
1 cup 1 honey
1 1 cinnamon stick
1/4 cup 1/4 orange flower water or rose water
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- In a food processor, pulse the nuts until they are ground, but not turned into meal. Add the bacon, sugar, and cardamom and pulse a few more times until the nut mixture is finely chopped and evenly blended.
- Begin layering the baklava. Brush a jellyroll pan, or sheet pan with sides, generously with the melted butter. Unroll the phyllo dough and cover the sheets with a piece of plastic wrap and a damp towel. This keeps the sheets from drying out while you are layering the baklava. Read the package for detailed handling instructions
- Place a sheet of phyllo on the sheet pan and brush it with melted butter. Repeat with 6 more sheets of phyllo dough and butter for a total of 7 sheets. You do not have to cover every last inch of the phyllo with butter, but try and have it evenly dispersed between all of the layers. Spread 1/3 cup of the nut mixture evenly over the phyllo. Top the nuts with two more buttered sheets of phyllo. Continue sprinkling with 1/3 cup of the nut mixture adding two sheets of buttered phyllo until all of the nut mixture is used. Top with a final layer of 7 buttered phyllo sheets.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the uncooked baklava into 24 diamond shapes. Bake the baklava until it is brown and crisp, 30-35 minutes.
- While the baklava is baking, combine the water, sugar, and honey in a saucepan. Gradually heat the mixture until the sugar dissolves. Add the cinnamon stick and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat slightly and simmer for 25-30 minutes. Remove the pan from heat, add the orange flower water and cool slightly. Pour the syrup evenly over the baklava as soon as it comes out of the oven. Make sure you get the syrup in every crack and crevice. Leave to soak for several hours. Serve at room temperature and store leftovers in the refrigerator.
Inspired by Epicurious
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