Wow your friends with this Blueberry Almond Baklava, fresh from your oven with the delicious drizzle of Orange Blossom Honey Syrup.
Why Try? This one will make you look like a professional chef!
When working with phyllo dough, keep it covered with a damp kitchen towel to keep the dough soft and pliable.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup orange blossom honey
- 2 cups dried blueberries
- 2 1/2 cups sliced almonds
- ORANGE BLOSSOM HONEY SYRUP
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 whole vanilla bean, split lengthwise
- BLUEBERRY-ALMOND BAKLAVA
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter, softened, plus extra for buttering pan
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 1 teaspoon pure almond extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground mace
- 1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough, thawed
Preparation
- 1 FOR ORANGE BLOSSOM HONEY SYRUP: In a medium saucepan, combine honey, water, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla bean over med-high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let cool uncovered.
- 2 FOR BLUEBERRY-ALMOND BAKLAVA: Preheat oven to 350°F.
- 3 Grease a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with butter.
- 4 In a medium bowl, combine warm water, almond extract, lemon zest, and dried blueberries. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 15 minutes. Drain well.
- 5 In a food processor, pulse the almonds 3-4 times until coarsely ground.
- 6 In a large bowl, combine blueberries, almonds, sugar, and spices. Set aside.
- 7 Unroll the phyllo dough and cover with a damp kitchen towel, this will keep the dough soft and pliable.
- 8 Place one sheet of dough in bottom of a baking pan. Lightly brush with softened butter. Continue to layer and brush the dough repeating 8 times.
- 9 Sprinkle half of the fruit-nut mixture over dough evenly. Repeat 8 sheet processes again and top with remaining fruit-nut mixture. Top with remaining 8 sheets of dough and brush with softened butter.
- 10 With a very sharp knife, cut only halfway through the pastry in 4 equal sections, turn the pan and cut 4 more equal sections in the opposite direction making 16 squares. Cut an X in each square.
- 11 Bake for 45 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and cool in the pan on a cooling rack. Remove vanilla bean from syrup, and drizzle over warm pastry.
