This past week I finally had an appetite—yay. I was craving Greek food for some reason—pitas, hummus, stuffed grape leaves, tzatziki sauce, etc. I’d had this baklava recipe marked for a long time, I just never felt like making it. But when I decided to make a Greek themed dinner, I had to include baklava for the dessert. I admit I was nervous about making it, I really love baklava and I was worried my homemade version would not live up to my expectations. I couldn’t have been more wrong…..
Oh my goodness, this was delicious. This was my first experience with phyllo and it went well. I had a couple of tears, but nothing too terrible. When eating, the top phyllo layers didn’t want to stay together, but most baklava is messy to eat. The taste is unbelievable. I’m glad I halved the syrup recipe (though this is probably the reason my baklava top was so flaky) because it was really sweet. I thought about using agave instead of honey but I worried agave would make it too sweet. (I personally think agave is sweeter than honey, and therefore when I substitute agave for honey I usually reduce the amount). Initially I was worried that even a half batch would yield more than the two of us could eat, but Mr.Surly liked it so much he’d eat two pieces at a time. Needless to say, it didn’t last long (thank goodness). I don’t know why I was so nervous to make this; it really wasn’t hard at all. Next time I might add some almonds to the mixture.
