Chocolate Baklava: National Baklava Day

Photo: Cooking Light

Today is National Baklava Day. I love Baklava. One of my favorite baklava recipes uses pistachios, but Baklava can be made with a variety of different nuts or a mixture as in the recipe below. The baklava flavor will also change with the honey you use.

Basically Baklava is a Mediterranean dessert made with nuts, flat bread (phyllo) and syrup or honey. The type of nuts or the syrup ingredients often suggest the origin of the recipe. As there are many countries within close proximity of each other, Baklava spread to other areas and evolved with new techniques and fillings.

The Phyllo we know today has a long and interesting history. Phyllo dough didn't come from Greece, but rather from Istanbul during the Ottoman reign. However, the Greeks claim to have created the paper-thin version. It's well known that the Turks brought Baklava to Central Europe. A close relative to phyllo is strudel dough. Phyllo and strudel dough shares the same ingredients, wheat flour, water and fat (oil or butter). Both are rolled out, with phyllo being much thinner.

Until 1946 Phyllo was made by hand. Pressing and stretching and pressing and stretching for hours. In 1946 Le Conie Stiles of Seattle, Washington, invented the Phyllo-stretching machine. Now anyone can buy Phyllo.

History of Baklava from The Kitchen Project:

It is widely believed that the Assyrians in the 8th century B.C. were the first people who put together layers of thin bread dough with chopped nuts in between those layers, added some honey and baked it in their primitive wood burning ovens. This earliest known version of baklava was baked only on special occasions. In fact, historically baklava was considered a food for the rich until mid-19th century. In Turkey, to this day one can hear a common expression often used by the poor, or even by the middle class, saying: "I am not rich enough to eat baklava every day".

The Greek seamen and merchants traveling east to Mesopotamia soon discovered the delights of Baklava. They brought the recipe to Athens. The Greeks' major contribution to the development of this pastry is the creation of a dough technique that made it possible to roll it as thin as a leaf, compared to the rough, bread-like texture of the Assyrian dough. In fact, the name "Phyllo" was coined by Greeks, which means "leaf" in the Greek language. In a relatively short time, in every kitchen of wealthy households in the region, trays of baklava were being baked for all kinds of special occasions from the 3rd Century B.C. onwards.

The Armenians, as their Kingdom was located on ancient Spice and Silk Routes, integrated for the first time the cinnamon and cloves into the texture of baklava. The Arabs introduced the rose-water and cardamom. The taste changed in subtle nuances as the recipe started crossing borders. To the north of its birthplace, baklava was being baked and served in the palaces of the ancient Persian kingdom. To the west, it was baked in the kitchens of the wealthy Roman mansions, and then in the kitchens of the Byzantine Empire until the fall of the latter in 1453 A.D.

In the 15th Century A.D., the Ottomans invaded Constantinople to the west, and they also expanded their eastern territories to cover most of ancient Assyrian lands and the entire Armenian Kingdom. The Byzantine Empire came to an end, and in the east Persian Kingdom lost its western provinces to the invaders.

For four hundred years from 16th Century on, until the decline of Ottoman Empire in 19th Century, the kitchens of Imperial Ottoman Palace in Constantinople became the ultimate culinary hub of the empire. The artisans and craftsmen of all Guilds, the bakers, cooks and pastry chefs who worked in the Ottoman palaces, at the mansions of Pashas and Viziers, and at Provincial Governor (Vali) residences etc., had to be recruited from various ethnic groups that composed the empire. Armenian, Greek, Persian, Egyptian, Assyrian and occasionally Serbian, Hungarian or even French chefs were brought to Constantinople, to be employed at the kitchens of the wealthy. These chefs contributed enormously to the interaction and to the refinement of the art of cooking and pastry-making of an Empire that covered a vast region to include the Balkans, Greece, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Persia, Armenia, Iraq and entire Mesopotamia, Palestine, Egypt, North Africa and the Mediterranean and Aegean islands.

Towards the end of 19th Century, small pastry-shops started to appear in Constantinople and in major Provincial capitals, to cater the middle class, but the Ottoman Palace have always remained the top culinary "academy" of the Empire, until its end in 1923. There was a special reason for baklava being the top choice of pastry for the Turkish Sultans with their large Harems, as well as for the wealthy and their families. Two principal ingredients, the pistachio and honey, were believed to be aphrodisiacs when taken regularly. Certain spices that were added to baklava, have also helped to fine-tune and to augment the aphrodisiac characteristics of the pastry, depending on male or female consumer. Cinnamon for females, and cardamom for males and cloves for both sexes.

From the 18th century on, there was nothing much to add to baklava's already perfected taste and texture. There were however, some cosmetic modifications in shaping and in the presentation of baklava on a baking tray (called Sini). The Phyllo dough (called Youfka) which was traditionally layered and cut into squares or triangles, were given a "French touch" in late 18th century. As the Empire began opening itself to Western cultural (and culinary) influences, the General manager (Kahyabasi) of the Imperial Kitchen didn't miss the opportunity to hire Monsieur Guillaume, a former pastry chef of Marie Antoinette, who in exile at the Ottoman Turkish Palace after learning how to bake baklava, created the "dome" technique of cutting and folding of the baklava squares which was named "Baklava Francaise" (Frenk Baklavasi) after the nationality of its creator. 

Well here's a non-traditional, but  part of my tradition, recipe from  Cooking Light for Chocolate Baklava! Originally from 1998, this recipe was updated for the November 2012 Cooking Light 25th Anniversary issue. Hazel-nut spread is something you can make yourself  (here's a great recipe for Home Made Nutella from Recipe Girl) or you just buy a jar of Nutella (or another brand). So versatile. Remember to keep the  phyllo dough sheets covered when not using, so they don't dry out.

CHOCOLATE BAKLAVA

Ingredients
3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup water
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
1 cup Nutella
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup roasted pistachios, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup blanched toasted almonds, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
24 (14 x 9-inch) sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
1/2 cup sweet butter, melted

Directions
Combine honey, water and cinnamon stick in medium saucepan over low heat; stir until honey dissolves. Increase heat to medium and cook, without stirring, until candy thermometer reads 230° (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat; cover to keep warm. Discard cinnamon stick.

Preheat oven to 350°.  Put Nutella inmicrowave-safe bowl; microwave at HIGH for 30 seconds or until melted. Combine nuts, cinnamon and salt in small bowl.

Lightly coat 13 x 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish with cooking spray. Working with 1 phyllo sheet at a time (cover remaining dough to prevent drying), place 1 phyllo sheet lengthwise in bottom of prepared pan, allowing ends of sheet to extend over edges of dish; lightly brush with butter. Repeat procedure with 5 phyllo sheets and butter. Drizzle about 1/3 cup melted Nutella spread over phyllo. Sprinkle evenly with one-third of nut mixture (about 1/2 cup). Repeat procedure twice with phyllo, butter, Nutella and nut mixture. Top last layer of nut mixture with remaining 6 sheets phyllo, each lightly brushed with butter. Press gently into pan.

Make 3 lengthwise cuts and 5 crosswise cuts to form 24 portions using sharp knife. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until phyllo is golden. Remove from oven and drizzle honey over baklava.

Cool in pan on a wire rack. Cover; store at room temperature.

Because phyllo sheets are thin and delicate, handle with care so you won't tear the sheets. Keep the sheets you are not working with covered so it won't dry out.