30 small pieces of baklava

An excellent juicy, very sweet dessert that is traditionally prepared in the Balkans (but not only). The recipe is very easy. You will not have to spend hours in the kitchen. It can be completely vegan – it does not affect the taste in any way. I offer you a ready-filo version. Of course, home-made filo sheets are the best ones, but I suppose few of you have the time it takes to roll them out yourself.

Products:

400 g filo sheets

4 tbsps. pistachios for sprinkling of baklava, crushed

agave syrup to taste (for caramelizing pistachios)

for the filling:

2 tbsps. cinnamon + 1 cup walnuts, grinded

sunflower oil/butter to taste (for spreading the filo)

for the syrup:

2 cups sugar

5 tbsps. candied citrus peels (orange + lemon)

1 and 1/2 cup water

lemon essence of taste

Preparation:

Boil all the syrup products. I leave it to chill.

Separate 4 filos (piled on each other). I spread the top filo with sunflower oil and sprinkle it all over with the filling (walnuts and cinnamon).

I roll up a tight roll, then cut, with a very sharp knife, pieces with 2-3 cm thickness.

Arrange the ‘snails’ tightly onto a previously greased tray.

Spray them with a little sunflower oil/butter.

I separate the next 4 filos, piled on each other and repeat the steps so far – spread with sunflower oil, sprinkle with the filling, roll, cut … And it repeats, until all filo sheets are used.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes in a preheated oven at 180ᴼC (or until slightly golden).

I pour the cold syrup over the hot baklava.

Sprinkle it with the sticky pistachios (I previously roast them for some seconds on a dry pan and after taking them off the hob, I stir them together with the agave syrup).

A tip:

The best time to eat it is on the next day. If you have some extra syrup, it’s no problem. The thickness of the filo is different for different brands and some absorb more, others less. But in any case, it is better to have more syrup than not enough.

Sometimes I prepare another version of the syrup (you decide which one you like the most):

2 cups water

1 and 1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsps. honey

5 tbsps. rose water

lemon juice of 1 lemon + peels (or lemon essence)

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baklava