Baklava with Chocolate Drizzle

Published November 9, 2014

I was in charge of making dessert for a dinner with friends last night. Since we were doing a lot of Mediterranean inspired dishes I made baklava. I still had candy left over from Halloween so I decided to melt some of the candy bars and drizzle them over the top. It was, as expected, very well received. Baklava isn’t hard to make. You just have to move quickly while assembling because the phyllo leaves dry out quickly and get brittle. Just have everything ready before you open the package of dough and get started. The phyllo sheets I used are pretty big so I folded them in half to fit the pan I used. There was a little trimming to do, but not much. Well worth the effort.

Baklava with Chocolate Drizzle

1 lb. phyllo
½ lb. butter, preferably unsalted
¾ lb. walnuts or blanched almonds, chopped fine
¼ c. sugar
½ t. cinnamon
Syrup, recipe follows
½ c. melted chocolate
Combine nuts, sugar and seasonings and set aside. Brush a 9×13-inch pan with butter and line bottom with 8 phyllo sheets, folded in half to fit pan, brushing each with butter as you go. Spread ½ of the nut mixture on phyllo leaves. Top with 3-4 buttered sheets of phyllo. Spread with the rest of the nut mixture. Add the rest of the leaves for the top. Brush top layer of leaves with remaining butter. With a sharp pointed knife score the top sheets in whatever shapes and sizes you want. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour. Baklava should be golden brown. Meanwhile prepare syrup. When baklava has cooled, warm up the syrup and pour over. Drizzle with melted chocolate. Cut into squares to serve.

Syrup:
1 c. sugar
½ c. honey
1 c. water
zest of 1 lemon or orange
Bring to a boil and simmer 10 minutes. Strain and set aside.