Pistachio Baklava with Orange Cardamom Syrup...

I've wanted to try making baklava for a very long time, but there has always been something stopping me. Some part of me was convinced that whatever I created would just never live up to that amazing first bite of baklava that I had as a kid. I mean, how could I replicate this baffling combination of sugary honey syrup with soft yet crisp layers of pastry and two separate layers of chopped, spiced nuts? Before my first baklava, all the sweet things I had fell into the basic categories of cookies, pies, cakes, brownies, and candy. But where in this spectrum does baklava even fall? It's sweet enough to be candy and is heavy on the pastry front, but neither category really does it justice. Seriously, some things are just magic and I'm no magician.

So you can only imagine that when I read bon appetit's february issue in which orangette conquers her own personal fear of baklava, I knew it was time for me to overcome mine as well.

Sadly, the outcome wasn't the baklava I first fell in love with as a child. Thats not to say it wasn't delicious, but rather that it had a farely pronounced orange flavor rather than the more traditional honey-ish flavor. At first, I only thought it okay and felt a bit let down. However, this orange flavor mellowed and became much better after a few days and the cardamom flavor was the perfect spice combo. When it was all gone, I would be lying if I said I wasn't very sad that my baklava fest was over. Honestly, it became rather addictive. I much preferred this served cold from the fridge, because for some reason the flavors were more in proportion. The reviews from friends and family were overwhelmingly positive and there were many requests for more baklava, which were ignored as I protected my private baklava stash in the back of the fridge.

Some notes on the recipe - I think the amount of syrup in the recipe produced the ideal balance of soft and crisp pastry, but I needed a bit more butter (about 3 tbsp) than the recipe called for to spread on the layers.

Now that I know I can produce some pretty good baklava, I plan on searching for a more traditional honey flavored baklava recipe. But this is a nice, addictive twist on baklava that I'm pretty sure I'll crave within the next few months.

Don't be a turkey, make some baklava