Month: June 2021

Pecan Pie Baklava

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Pecan Pie Baklava. This is my own personal creation for the “pie” unit for Christina Tosi’s Creative Baking Class. Tosi is brilliant in that her pies are not traditional. Her classic “Milk Bar Pie” has a crust of a crushed up, homemade oatmeal cookie that’s delicious and addictive. For her class, we need to create our own version of pie–not the traditional pie crust and filling. Rethinking what a “crust” and even what a “pie” is is inspiring in itself, so I decided for my second project to make Pecan Pie Filling as a layer of a whole baklava pie–the crust is the baklava and it’s the filling (between the layers, I retain the nature of baklava by still putting nuts in between each layer). When I usually make baklava, it’s pistachios, but because I am channeling the South, I decided to use pecans all the way through. Sorry, Dad!

As a former North Carolina resident, I learned to love Pecan Pie (as well as the classic Banana Cream Pie, but that will come, I think, for the cake upcoming). While living down there, I also liked to channel my Lebanese background and would make all sorts of appetizers and desserts with Phyllo dough. So while this pie isn’t Tosi-esque because I didn’t crumble a cookie, use cereal, or add something cloyingly sweet but unusual, it’s definitely me. When I think of pie, I think of a flakey, buttery crust, and I think the best form of a pie is either with Phyllo or Puff Pastry, hence my choice of crust.

I used a 6-inch springform pan and layered in Phyllo dough and buttered alternate sheets. I tossed chopped pecans, sugar, cinnamon, and fresh orange zest in between 3 layers. When I was halfway done, I put traditional pecan pie filling in the middle so it’s a true hybrid. The last few layers of Phyllo are circles to make a smooth top, and cutting this diamond pattern was very tedious. If it wasn’t for my best friend, I don’t think I could have done it. We worked on the design as a team!

The key to good baklava is to make sure the syrup is cooled and then it is slowly spooned on top of the hot baklava so that it seeps deeply and evenly.

Be warned: This is a bit tedious between the layering and the cutting, but it’s worth it if you have the patience. Enjoy!

Here’s my recipe!

INGREDIENTS FOR PECAN PIE FILLING
1 egg
7 tablespoons of light corn syrup
7 tablespoons of light brown sugar
2 tablespoons of butter melted (salted)
1 cup of pecans
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
a little orange zest

INGREDIENTS FOR BAKLAVA CRUST LAYERS
1/3 cup honey
1 (3″) cinnamon stick
3/4 cups sugar, divided
1.5 tablespoons bourbon
2 cups raw pecans
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest, plus 1 teaspoon orange curls
20 (17×12″) sheets fresh phyllo pastry or frozen, thawed (you will likely not use the whole box, but it’s better to have more than less)
1 cup (2 stick) unsalted butter, melted (European, like Kerrygold, is preferred)

Special Equipment
A 6-inch springform pan

1.) First, make your pecan pie filling. In a bowl, mix together egg, corn syrup, brown sugar, butter, pecans, cinnamon, and orange zest. Set aside.

2.) Preheat oven to 350°F.

3.) Next, make your baklava syrup. Bring honey, cinnamon sticks, 1/2 cup of sugar, and 1/2 cup water to a boil in a medium heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium and continue to boil until syrup is reduced. Transfer to a medium bowl, stir in bourbon and let cool.

4.) Meanwhile, spread pecans on a rimmed baking sheet and toast until golden brown, 13–15 minutes. Let cool. Transfer nuts to a food processor. Add ground cinnamon, 1 tsp. orange zest, and remaining sugar (about 3 tablespoons) and pulse until coarsely chopped.

5.) Place a stack of phyllo sheets on a work surface. Keep any phyllo you’re not currently working with covered under a layer of plastic wrap topped with a slightly damp kitchen towel. Using a base of the springform pan as a guide, and starting at edge of phyllo, carefully cut out 20 (9″) circles, leaving as much phyllo remaining as possible. Cover phyllo circles. Using base of pan as a guide, cut remaining phyllo into 20 (4 1/2″) half-circles.

6.) Insert base into pan and secure the latch. Brush base with butter. Place 1 phyllo circle in pan and brush generously with butter. To save dough, cut dough into rectangular strips, cut into two square, and then cut each square into a diagonal triangle and to layer your pan. Each time you double up on a layer, brush with butter, and try to use your pastry brush to smooth and fit the sheets to be rounded off into the pan.

7.) Once you are a quarter of the way up, layer with seasoned pecans and shake the pan back and forth to make sure there’s an even distribution. Continue to layer and butter as you see fit.

8.) Repeat the previous steps for when you’re halfway through. Once halfway, add pecan pie filling. Put extra layers of phyllo to support the weight of the filling.

9.) I used triangles layered on top of one another and then the “springform traced circles for the top as that layer is very delicate and needs to be cut through. Be sure to save your circles for the top and fill your springform pan about 75% of the way.

10.) Repeat the previous steps and fill the other layers with the seasoned nut filling as you did before. You should have nuts on the first quarter, third quarter, and almost at the very top.

11.) OPTIONAL (if you want the pattern I did): Using a sharp knife, score the top layer (do not cut through to the bottom of the pan) to divide into 4 quadrants. Working with 1 quadrant at a time, make 1 straight cut to divide the quadrant into 2 even wedges. Make 4 more straight cuts (2 each on either side of, and parallel to the quadrant division line), spacing evenly apart. Now working within each wedge, make 2 evenly-spaced cuts parallel to the outside edge of the quadrant, connecting at points with the previous cuts to form a diamond pattern. Repeat with the remaining quadrants to create a starburst pattern.

ALTERNATIVE CUTTING METHOD: In the past, I’ve made diamond cuts by carefully slice the baklava into 4 long even strips lengthwise, then slice diagonally to create diamond-shaped baklava.

12.) Transfer pan to a rimmed baking sheet and bake until phyllo is golden brown, about 45 minutes.
Spoon cooled syrup over hot baklava in 4 additions. Place orange curls on top. Let cool completely in pan. Remove springform ring and cut baklava along the scored lines.

Rainbow Black and White Cookies🌈

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Hi everyone! It’s been a while. Life happens, but cookies always seem to make it better.

So I am taking this Monthly class with Christina Tosi from Milk Bar. It’s her Creative Baking Class, and it’s been such a fun experience. For my “Cookie Unit,” I had to create my own rendition of a cookie. It’s hard to make something new, so I decided to channel my two favorite cookies together: The Black and White Cookie and the Italian/Seven Layer/Venetian Cookie. They’re both cake-like, so I thought it would be the perfect hybrid. I literally shoved a pre-made Italian cookie inside the black and white, and I made the Black and White Batter more “almondy” like a Seven Layer Cookie, but I am proud of this unique, never before created hybrid cookie. If you don’t want to be bothered with dyeing the cookie different layers, no worries, but it makes it more fun to eat and reinforces the contrast between “Black and White” and COLOR. Enjoy this Brooklyn bakery fusion!

Rainbow Black and White Cookies

Makes about 15 cookies

INGREDIENTS

For cookies:
2 1/2 cups of cake flour (I like Softsilk best!)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk (I used 2/3 cup of whole milk with two teaspoons of fresh lemon juice)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup (10 2/3 tablespoons) unsalted European butter, softened (like Kerrygold)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
8 oz almond paste (I used Solo)
2 large eggs
15 Italian/Rainbow cookies already made (Cake Bites brand is excellent, and three come in a package, so for that brand, grab 5 packs!)
1 jar of apricot preserves (you will NOT use the whole jar–I had some leftover in my fridge, so it was cost-effective for me…)**optional, but recommended highly!
gel food coloring (your choice of four colors: I used red, yellow, green, and blue)

for the glazes:

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
5 ounces good semisweet chocolate, such as Lindt, roughly chopped (I used Ghirardelli chocolate chips)
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract (use clear vanilla extract to make sure the color stays as white as possible)
2 to 3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon of lemon juice (optional–if you like that lemon taste in your black and white cookie frosting)

Alternative for icings (but would only recommend for the chocolate portion–the vanilla portion is too transparent)

1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

BAKING THE COOKIES

1.) Preheat oven to 350°F.

2.) Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

3.) Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a cup.

4.) Next, break up almond paste with your mixer before you add other ingredients. Drop the almond paste in the bowl and let it crumble finely on medium speed.

5.) Once the almond paste is broken up nicely, beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add egg, beating until combined well.

6.) Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches at low speed (scraping down side of bowl occasionally), beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix until smooth.

8.) If you would like to dye the layers, use a small cookie scoop and portion out the batter into separate small ramekins to dye. Add a small amount of gel food color in each and stir until evenly distributed.

7) Spoon 1/4 cups of batter about 2 inches apart onto a buttered large baking sheet (I used a Silpat with a light bit of butter). Also, I used a large cookie scoop and used a spoon to gently layer each color on top.

8.) Once multiple colors are layered alongside one another, slice your pre-made rainbow cookie into three thin slices (leaving all three layers intact. With one layer, cut into half to have an even distribution of the rainbow cookie in the scooper. See photos.

9.) Bake in the middle of the oven until the tops are puffed and pale golden, and cookies spring back when touched, 15 to 17 minutes. While cookies are hot, lightly brush apricot preserves onto the baked cookie. Also, if you want a perfect shape, feel free to use a cookie cutter (sugar cookie size) to make them look perfectly circular.

10.) Transfer with a spatula to a rack and chill (to cool quickly), about 5 minutes. Do not ice cookies until they’re cooled down enough!

ICING THE COOKIES

1.) For the chocolate glaze, place the butter, and chocolate in a heatproof bowl and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir the mixture and continue to microwave in 30-second increments until the chocolate is almost melted, allowing the residual heat to finish melting the chocolate completely. Stir the mixture vigorously, until smooth. Turn the cookies so the flat side is up. Hold the cookie in your hand and, with a spoon, carefully pour the chocolate glaze on half of the cookie, forming a straight line down the middle. Allow the glaze to set for 30 minutes. Tip: Point the tip of the spoon in a straight line for a clean line.

2.) For the vanilla glaze, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, lemon juice (if using), and 2 tablespoons of the cream, adding drops of cream until the glaze is smooth, thick, and barely pourable. Holding the cookie in your hand, with a spoon, pour the white glaze over the unglazed half of each cookie right up to the chocolate glaze. You can smooth it out with an offset spatula if you need to. Allow to set for 30 minutes. Serve at room temperature.

If using the alternative icing:

Stir together confectioners sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl until smooth. Transfer half of the icing to another bowl and stir in cocoa, adding more water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, to thin to the same consistency as white icing. Turn cookies flat sides up, then spread white icing over half of each and chocolate over other half.