Baklava

Baklava is a rich, sweet dessert pastry made of layers of filo filled with chopped nuts and traditionally sweetened and held together with syrup or honey. Our delectable variation uses VitaFiber® IMO for a light sweetness and all the benefits of low-sugar, prebiotic IMO syrup! Even your Turkish friends will be delighted!

Ingredients

• • 1 Package of phyllo (filo) dough
  • 3/4 lb (300g) of butter

For the Filling:

• • 2 cups (250g) of chopped walnuts
  • 1/4 cup (32g) of VitaFiber® IMO powder
  • 2 Tbsp (30ml) of melted butter
  • 3/4 tsp (2g) of cinnamon
  • Zest of one lemon
  • Zest of one orange
  • 1/4 tsp (1.5g) of salt

For the Syrup:

• 1/2 cup (75g) of VitaFiber® IMO powder
• 3/4 cup (210ml) of VitaFiber® IMO syrup
• 1 cup (250ml) of water
• 1 tsp (2g) of vanilla extract
• Juice of 1/2 lemon

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit.
2. In a food processor, add the nuts and pulse until finely chopped, add them to a large bowl
3. Add VitaFiber® IMO powder, lemon zest, orange zest, butter, cinnamon and salt, mix well to combine and set aside.
4. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat and remove from the heat to cool slightly.
5. Unwrap the phyllo dough, trim it to fit a 9 x 9” baking pan. Phyllo dries out quickly so keep it covered with a damp kitchen towel.
6. Brush some of the butter on the bottom of the baking pan, then lay one piece of phyllo in the bottom.
7. Then brush some butter evenly over the whole surface of the phyllo and follow that with another piece of phyllo.
8. Keep buttering each piece and layering a total of 8 pieces of phyllo on top of each other, sprinkle over about 3/4 of a cup of the nut mixture and then layer 6 pieces of phyllo (with butter in between) on top of the first layer.
9. Keep layering and here is the layer breakdown: 8 pieces of buttered phyllo, 3/4 cup of filling 6 pieces of buttered phyllo, 3/4 cup of filling 6 pieces of buttered phyllo, 3/4 cup of filling 6 pieces of buttered phyllo, 3/4 cup of filling 6 pieces of buttered phyllo, 3/4 cup of filling 8 pieces of buttered phyllo as the very top layer
10. Brush the very top with some butter, then using a sharp knife, cut the baklava into small squares or a diamond pattern bake the baklava for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown on top.
11. While the Baklava bakes, make the syrup. Add the water and VitaFiber® IMO syrup to the VitaFiber® IMO powder, vanilla and lemon juice mixture in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until the VitaFiber® IMO powder dissolves, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool.
12. When the baklava comes out of the oven, immediately pour over the syrup, allow it to come to room temperature then lightly cover it with a kitchen towel and allow it to sit for about 6 hours or overnight before serving.