Paklava
Paklava is Armenia's version of the classic Middle Eastern dessert pastry Baklava. This rich nutty dessert is bound to get you those extra points at your next dinner party. And the best part, this dessert uses very little sugar! Here's how to make it:
Ingredients
- 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
- 1 cup pecans, finely chopped
- 3/4 cup VitaFiber® powder
- 3/4 cup sugar (I recommend beet or cane sugar)
- 1T ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 box phyllo dough, room temperature
- 5 + 1/2 stick of butter, separates and melted
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup VitaFiber™ powder
- 1/4 cup water
- Juice from 1/2 a lemon
- Handful of cloves
Directions
- Defrost the phyllo dough in the refrigerator overnight. Place on counter and allow to come to room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 350F. Finely chop the nuts, and combine with the sugar, VitaFiber®, and sea salt. Melt the butter.
- Brush the bottom of a 9x13 dish with butter. Layer one thin sheet of phyllo, brush butter on top... repeat for 6-8 layers of phyllo. (If the phyllo rips, it’s fine, just spread the pieces as evenly as you can). After 6-8 sheets, sprinkle 1/3-1/2 cup of the nut mixture. Repeat until all of the nut mixture and phyllo are gone, being sure to end the pastry with phyllo on top.
- Carefully cut the paklava at a diagonal, being sure to cut ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE GLASS. Repeat cutting at a diagonal in the opposite direction, until you make about 2 inch pieces. Pour remaining 1/2 sick of melted butter on each cut line. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden.
- While it’s baking, combine the ingredients for the syrup in a small sauce pan. Bring to a slow boil, stirring frequently so all the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat allow to become luke warm.
- When the paklava is done, pour the syrup all along the cut lines, just as you did the butter. (It should sizzle a bit). Allow to cool completely before serving, best if let to sit overnight.