Orange Blossom Scented Baklava

I shared this recipe for baklava scented with the slightest bit of orange flower water (sometimes called orange blossom water) over on my Food52 column last week. I thought you all might like it too so I'm sharing it here. It's such a tasty recipe, and makes a ton of cookies that keep for a while. You can even freeze them!

My version of baklava is mostly traditional - packed full of buttery layers of phyllo pastry filled with walnuts and pistachios, but I added a few non-traditional extras to the syrup that is poured over the top. A split vanilla bean adds another layer of sweetness (and beautiful little seeds), and just a bit of orange flower water perfumes the cookies just slightly. If you are not a fan (or can’t find) the orange flower water a bit of cinnamon or cardamom is great in the syrup too.

For easy serving, transfer the individual pieces of baklava to cupcake liners or squares of parchment paper, then keep them in an airtight container at room temperature. Baklava can also be frozen, baked or unbaked. Just let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving or baking. 

Orange Blossom Scented Baklava

Makes one 9- by 13-inch pan, about 36 cookies

Syrup

1 cup sugar

1 cup mild honey

1 vanilla bean, split

1 cup water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon orange blossom water

Baklava

8 ounces shelled pistachios, plus a few more to garnish

8 ounces walnuts

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

pinch salt

1 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 pound phyllo dough, thawed and at room temperature

To make the syrup: Bring the sugar, honey, vanilla bean, and water to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stirring occasionally, boil the mixture until it reduces to a slightly syrupy consistency, about 5 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and orange flower water and set the syrup aside to cool. Remove the vanilla bean pod when cool.

To make the baklava: Preheat oven to 350° F and butter a 9- by 13-inch baking pan. Trim the phyllo sheets so they will fit in the pan.

In a food processor, coarsely grind the pistachios and walnuts. Add the sugar, spices, and a pinch of salt and pulse to combine.

Line the pan with one sheet of phyllo dough and brush it with butter, repeat 5 more times. Sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mixture over the top. Top with 6 more sheets of buttered phyllo dough, followed by 1/3 of the nut mixture. Top with 8 sheets phyllo dough, buttering in between each layer. ((Your grand total of sheets: 6 + 6 + 6 + 8.) Brush the top of the phyllo with butter and trim any overhanging edges.

Use a sharp knife to cut 6 lengthwise strips through the top layer of the dough. Slice each strip diagonally into about 6 diamond shapes.

Bake the baklava until golden brown and crisp, 45 to 55 m inures. Remove the pan to a rack and carefully cut through the scored lines. Pour the cooled syrup over the hot baklava. Let sit for a few hours before digging in. Sprinkle with additional chopped pistachios. Store covered, at room temperature for up to one week.

Roasted Quince Crumb Cake and a Video

video by Pete Lockhart

I'm so excited to share a new video with you today, along with the recipe for this amazing and very easy crumb cake! It's the kind of recipe I know I will make over and over again, switching out the fruit and maybe adding some warm spices, depending on the season. I saw this cake, which is by the legendary Fergus Henderson, pop-up on the Herriot Grace blog last month and immediately thought to make it with quince. I used the roasted quinces from The Violet Bakery Cookbook, which is one of my very favorite books from this fall's releases. This recipe makes for the most vibrantly hued quince I've ever cooked. They were practically neon!

The cake itself has a very dense crumb and a generous amount of sandy, crumbly topping which is nicely offset by lots of fruit. It would be the perfect thing to serve at a holiday brunch and you could definitely bake it a day ahead of time. 

Quince Crumb Cake

adapted from Fergus Henderson via Herriot Grace

This cake was originally made with sliced rhubarb, but you could substitute an equal quantity of just about any fruit. Nikole made this cake with gorgeous pluots, but I imagine that plums would also be lovely or apples, pears, or even sweetened fresh cranberries. Use your imagination! The original recipe calls for macerating the fruit with a bit of sugar and citrus zest, for this version I just added a bit of the syrup leftover in the quince pan after roasting to mimic the juices that would have accumulated after roasting the fruit.

Cake

one pound roasted quince, cut into 1-inch pieces (recipe follows)

3 tablespoons quince syrup (from the roasting pan)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

scant 2/3 cup sugar or caster sugar

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/3 cups self rising flour

pinch salt

scant 1/4 cup whole milk

Crumble

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup ground almonds

pinch salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Preheat oven to 375ºF and line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Butter and flour the parchment.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Slowly stream in the eggs and beat until well combined. Fold in the flour and salt, followed by the milk.

To make the crumble, combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the butter and mash the mixture together with your fingertips until well combined and like wet sand.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, top with the quince and their syrup. Spread the crumble over the top evenly.

Bake the cake until golden and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 60-75 minutes. If the crumble gets too dark before the cake cooks, tent the pan with foil.

Serve warm with creme fraiche, whipped cream or ice cream.

Roasted Quince

from Claire Ptak's Violet Bakery Cookbook

This recipe makes beautiful rosy quince that are quite tart, due to the generous amount of lemon juice. When cooked this way the quince hold their shape quite well making them perfect for all sorts of uses. This book was written with gram measurements in mind so they are listed below, as in the original recipe. 

4 or 5 quince

300g ( 1 1/2 cups) sugar

100g (7 tablespoons) water

200g (3/4 cup) fresh lemon juice

zest of 2 lemons

2 or 3 bay leaves

1 vanilla bean

Preheat oven to 355ºF/180ºC.

Peel and core the quince and cut them into wedges by cutting them in half from top to tail and then cutting each half into thirds. Spread the wedges in a single layer in a large, heavy-bottomed gratin or roasting dish. Sprinkle with the sugar and cover with the water and lemon juice. Add the zest, bay leaves, and vanilla bean. Cover tightly with foil and roast for 23-35 minutes or until deep pinky orange and tender to the touch.

Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 1 month.