Chocolate Hazelnut Baklava
A couple weekends ago, Megan (from Delicious Dishings) and I got together to bake in her huge kitchen over in Somerville. While we were talking about what to make, we decided that we would each choose a recipe to make. Megan chose to make chocolate hazelnut baklava.
Luckily, the weather wasn’t horrible, so I hopped on the train to head over to Megan’s place. While I was making the trek from the green line, Megan prepared the filling and the syrup for the baklava recipe. We started with the other recipe that I chose and when that one got in the oven, we started on the baklava.
Megan chose this recipe becuase she loves baklava and had never worked with phyllo dough. We found out that the key to using phyllo is to first make sure it’s at the right temperature. Megan had let the dough defrost overnight in her fridge, then she let it set out on the counter for a few hours. Having it at the right temperature will ensure that the sheets won’t crack as you unroll them or stick together.
We both played around with a couple methods of picking up the individual sheets of phyllo. They’re very thin and delicate. We found it was best to slide our hands under it and lift carefully. Once you lay the sheet into the pan, you can make adjustments before coating it with more butter.
One thing I hadn’t realized was that you cut the baklava before you bake it. Then, while it’s hot and just out of the oven, you pour the syrup over the entire pan. We found this recipe to actually be pretty easy. Especially since the syrup and filling can be made ahead of time.
I ended up cutting my pieces in half again so they are more bite-sized. I placed the entire half batch into the freezer and plan to pop them out next time I need a fancy dessert to share.
One Year Ago: Two Potato Chowder and Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread
Two Years Ago: Smashed Chickpea Salad and Red Velvet Cupcakes
Three Years Ago: Lemon Cupcakes
Chocolate Hazelnut Baklava
Ingredients:
For the Syrup
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups honey
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa nibs
2 cinnamon sticks
For the Filling
1 lb whole hazelnuts (blanched if you can find them)
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut in pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
For the Dough
1 lb box of phyllo, thawed according to package instructions (you won't use all of it)
1 lb butter, melted
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In a medium saucepan, combine the water, honey, cup of sugar, cocoa nibs, and cinnamon sticks. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce heat to low, and continue cooking the syrup for 15 minutes. Cool and strain the syrup, and set it aside at room temp.
While the syrup is cooking, toast the hazelnuts in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, shaking them around on the pan occasionally. If you couldn't find blanched hazelnuts, rub the hazelnuts with a clean kitchen towel to remove the skins.
Once they are cool, place the hazelnuts in a food processor, and process until finely chopped. Dump them into a large bowl.
Add the chocolate and 1/2 cup sugar to the food processor, and process until chocolate is pebbly. Add this mixture to the bowl with the nuts. Stir in the cinnamon, and set the filling aside.
Line a 9-by-13 inch pan with foil, and generously butter the foil.
Carefully cut the phyllo dough in half so you have 9-by-13-inch sheets.
Place 1 sheet of phyllo dough in the bottom of the pan, and brush it with the melted butter. Repeat until you have 8 layers of buttered phyllo in the pan.
Spread 2 cups of filling over the phyllo dough.
Layer 4 more sheets of phyllo dough over the filling, buttering each.
Spread another 2 cups of filling on top.
Layer with another 4 sheets of phyllo, buttering each.
Spread the rest of the filling over the phyllo dough.
Top with another 6 sheets of phyllo, all brushed with butter.
Set the baklava aside for about 30 minutes so the butter can firm up, and then preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Cut the baklava into 3-inch squares. You will have 1 inch extra at one end (this strip makes an excellent snack). Then cut each square diagonally, so you get two triangles out of every square.
Bake the baklava for 25 minutes, and then turn it, lower the oven to 325 degrees, and bake it for an additional 45 to 50 minutes, until golden brown on top.
Transfer the pan to a cooling rack, and immediately ladle the room temperature syrup over the baklava.
Let the baklava cool completely. Use a small spatula to remove the pieces. You may have to go back through with a knife or bench scraper and re-separate the pieces.
Recipe adapted from Food and Wine
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
Peppermint for sure
Love all things pumpkin this time of year!
ralphlucy at comcast.net
The richness of eggnog is one of my fave parts of the holiday season
jlynch6341@aol.com
I can’t decide if it’s peppermint or pumpkin! Oooh or egg nog!
yet another choc/peppermint combination to tempt me. Oh my! These look lovely! Peppermint is Christmas to me!
I tweeted too! breit85@gmail.com
love,
cathy b. @ brightbakes
I looooooooooooooooooooooove chocolate and peppermint. Especially when the chocolate is hot and the peppermint is liquor. Or any other way, really.
Oh I love Pumpkin and Peppermint! Two things my husband hates!
Apple Cider!! I drink it all winter long.
smartash1218@yahoo.com
Definately chocolate and peppermint or anything heavy on the cinnamon and nutmeg! Too bad I can’t win these liners with your cupcakes already in them! They look wonderful!
I <3 peppermint, it's a guilty pleasure. Also that I get to overeat gingerbread. That's where i pudge at the holidays, with Gingerbread flavor. its decadent and delicous.
Also: my word verification is redip. which entertains me.
I love the chocolate/peppermint combo.
My favorite holiday sweet is gingerbread cookies. rhisomers(at)gmail(dot)com
I tweeted it. and bragged you up.
So weird that it came out so thin for you! Maybe I should’ve specified what size can? Whoops. Anyway, I used a 14 ounce can and it came out pretty thick. Weird. I’m going to update my recipe with size now. 😉
The cupcakes look great anyway! 🙂
Okay, ignore me. Apparently I only used 3/4 of a cup of the condensed milk. Seriously, the cold weather is messing with my head.
I love chocolate and coconut this time of year. oh and of course marshmallow!
goorsky at g mail dot com
I agree – I love chocolate and peppermint this time of year. And your idea to fill the cupcakes w/peppermint and top w/chocolate ganache sounds amazing! But really who minds a bit of a mess when eating something so tasty?
Just tweeted
yum, these look delicious. i love homemade eggnog this time of year:)
Chocolate and Peppermint is a classic xmas combo that I just love.
ive been drinking peppermint mocha lattes like they’re going out of style. definitely a favorite combo! I love gingerbread this time of year too!
I love my Grandma’s almond puff 🙂 Soooo yummy
I’m lovin’ everything almond! Banket is a holiday staple at our house & I can’t get enough almond paste!
I’m partial to peppermint, especially those Andes Peppermint Chocolates. They’re like crack.
sarah(dot)chverchko(at)gmail(dot)com
Anything chocolate!
my fav is peppermint! i love candycanes and mint choc! 🙂
mandaala.blogspot.com
any kind dessert that looks “Christmas-y” is on my list!
I am in complete agreement- chocolate-peppermint is my favorite!!!
My favorite holiday flavor: Rum. Rum in Truffles, rum in eggnog, Rum in banana muffins, rum in pineapple upside down cakes…..yup, rum. 🙂
peppermint and chocolate is one of my favorite holiday flavors, but you know I have to remain loyal to pumpkin!
those look so good! peppermint is by far my fave holiday flavor!
but really also love buttery goodness in cookies. hmmm.
ctcupcake8@yahoo.com
GREAT!!!! hugs, Flavia
Peppermint (ideally with chocolate)!
Those look amazing!
I love mint chocolate and for the holidays put amaretto in EVERYTHING.
I am kind of peppermint obsessed so I absolutely love your cupcakes. Not to mention a peppermint patty frosting just sounds like pure bliss!
xo
ps I am your newest follower
Molasses. Or coconut. And butter. Those are the dominant flavors in three of my favorite holiday cookies. nsp429@gmail.com
I’m also on the peppermint bandwagon!
Chocolate and peppermint defo!
shelly8806@hotmail.com
I didn’t used to love the whole chocolate peppermint combo until I made an amazing cake from Bon Appetit last year. Now I’m hooked. I just ate a peppermint chocolate cookie for lunch today.
Those wrappers are so cute!
Pumpkin for sure. I love my pumpkin choc chip muffins! sunshine4342 at juno dot com
Yum! I am all about mint, and so is my bf.
PUMPKIN PUMPKIN PUMPKIN!!! Can’t get enough!
chocomuncher88 @ yahoo . com
Peppermint and gingerbread. YUM!
cmerrey at gmail dot com
My favorite flavor would have to be Egg Nog, or Peppermint :)!
meggie_sue@woh.rr.com
Peppermint for sure!!!
Silly I know but I love Fruitcake in all its yummy, rummy goodness.
Love eggnog! And mulled cider.
– Amanda
I love peppermint and pumpkin best! 🙂
Cinnamon!
Peppermint is definitely my fave! cnahorvath@yahoo.com
my favorite holiday flavor is eggnog. I think I could eat or drink about anything with eggnog
Pumpkin pie spice 🙂 … in everything from homemade pumpkin spice lattes to pumpkin bread! My fav!
Peppermint for me! These cupcakes look delicious…love the baking liners!
It’s a toss up between pumpkin and chocolate/peppermint.
phjones21@yahoo.com
These cupcakes look awesome! They are so pretty 🙂
Such a fun giveaway too. My favorite holiday flavors are ginger and molasses….yum!
Eggnog for sure!!! I just made Eggnog cookies that are actually TOO good….I can’t stay away!
I love simple molasses cookies! Molasses is one of my favorite things this time of year=)
I am SO with you on the chocolate/mint combo! Beyond delicious! I always make some peppermint biscotti at this time of year – yum! : )
love the combo of peppermint and chocolate. also love KA flour – use it all the time.
jacquieastemborski AT comcast DOT net
Well they look delicious! But I can see the pain of the ooziness!
Peppermint and chocolate is my favorite!
I love sweet things – especially egg nog!
Peppermint – I get addicted to peppermint mochas this time of year.
Mint chocolate! Yum!!
Cranberry! I think this started when we were giving our ‘grown up’ drink for Christmas Eve dinner. The real adults had wine and we had cran-raspberry juice for the kids version.
jfalksen at gmail dot com
As always, your post makes me want to lick my computer screen! I made your Snickerdoodle brownies the other day and I ate just about the whole pan. By myself. Need to give away the rest and then make them again because they made my apt smell AMAZING!
chocolate and mint, yum!
ljyoung85 at gmail.com
Coconut is my favorite! I put in mostly everything I bake during this time of year.
I love sweet things at this time of year. Especially the peppermint bark or candy cane hershey kisses.
I love anything eggnog flavored, especially baked goods. Mint is a good one too.
Peppermint hot chocolate! Or caramel…or pumpkin….
ooh, for the holidays i’d have to go with eggnog or peppermint!
I love peppermint! Can’t get enough of it this time of year!
My favorite holiday flavor has to be molasses. We have a family cookie recipe involving molasses that never gets old!
Almond flavoring goes into several of our cookies- including the candy cane cookies. The combo of almond with mint makes for a great cookie!! Eggnog and chex mix add to this yummy Christmas Eve combination.
My favorite holiday flavor is sweet – the chocolate-peppermint combo, mmm!
Vanilla (as in the icing on my mother-in-law’s fabulously delicious sugar cookies). Mmmm….
Chocolate is my favorite flavor year round!
I’m not sure if I have a favorite holiday flavor… I’ve been sitting here thinking about it for a few minutes. Mint perhaps? But not in excessive amounts.
My favorite holiday flavor is really my favorite year round flavor — cinnamon! I love cinnamon anything.
Hood Golden Egg Nog – yum!
Egg nog. I discovered Silk Egg Nog flavor as well as the See’s egg nog truffle this year. So happy.
amazing! can’t wait to bake them!
I love anything that is baked with eggnog! This year I’m thinking I might have to try to make eggnog truffles! YUM!
bbscabral@gmail.com
Peppermint and chocolate used to be my favorite flavor combo, but lately it’s become chili pepper and chocolate. I love the juxtaposition of spicy and sweet!
Pumpkin for Thanksgiving-time, eggnog for Christmas-time. I always forget how much I love eggnog until the time is here! 🙂
pumpkin bread! hbhalsod@gmail.com
I worship KAF. I mean WORSHIP! So I would love to win this one. My fave flavour combo for the holidays is probably chocolate and mint too, but I am really into gingerbread these days.