Chocolate Nut And Date Baklava Recipes

Steps:

• Toast pecans on baking sheet in center of 350°F oven for 5 to 10 minutes or until fragrant; let cool. In bowl, toss together pecans, dates, chocolate, sugar, cinnamon and orange rind. Set aside.
• Place one sheet of phyllo on work surface, keeping remainder covered with plastic wrap and damp towel. Brush lightly with butter. Fold in half crosswise; brush lightly with butter. Place in greased 13 x 9 inch cake pan. Repeat with three more sheets of phyllo for a total of eight layers.
• Sprinkle with ONE-THIRD of the chocolate mixture. Lightly brush two more sheets of phyllo with butter; fold each in half and place over chocolate mixture. Sprinkle with another ONE-THIRD of the mixture. Brush two more sheets of phyllo with butter; fold each in half and place on top. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate mixture. Brush remaining phyllo with butter; fold each in half and place in pan. Brush top sheet with remaining butter. Tuck in any excess.
• Using sharp knife and without cutting all the way through to filling, make long diagonal cuts, 1 1/2 inches apart, through top layers of phyllo, first in one direction, then opposite, to form diamond shapes. Bake in center of 350°F oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown and flaky on top.
• TOPPING: Meanwhile, in small saucepan, whisk honey with orange juice; bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, whisking occasionally. Spoon over hot baklava. Let cool completely on rack. (Baklava can be covered with plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 1 day.).
• In bowl over saucepan of hot (not boiling) water, melt chocolate, stirring occasionally. Drizzle over baklava. Cut into diamond shapes. Makes 24 servings.
• Canadian Living's Best Chocolate.

Steps:

• First, make the syrup. Tip the sugar into a large saucepan with 650ml water. Stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved, then turn up the heat and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 15 mins, then squeeze in a few drops of lemon juice and simmer for a further 5 mins. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Meanwhile, for assembling the baklava later, melt the butter in a small pan over a low heat for 5 mins, skimming and discarding any froth that rises to the surface.
• For the filling, crush all of the nuts in a pestle and mortar, or blitz in a food processor - you want a mixture of finely ground nuts with a few chunky pieces. Tip into a bowl, stir through the spices and set aside.
• In a separate bowl, mix the ricotta with the lemon and orange zests and vanilla. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Brush the bottom of a large baking tray (about 35 x 47cm) with some of the melted butter. Working with one sheet of filo at a time (covering the rest with a damp tea towel to prevent it drying out), lay the sheet out on a board so one of the short ends is facing you. Sprinkle 30g of the nut mixture evenly over the whole sheet, then spoon 1 tbsp of the ricotta mixture across the end closest to you. Fold this end over to enclose the filling, then lay a long, thin skewer next to the folded edge and roll the pastry around it to create a long roll. When it's fully rolled up, it should be roughly the thickness of a chipolata sausage. While holding one end of the rolling pin or skewer, gently scrunch the filo roll like an accordion and carefully push it off the skewer and onto the prepared tray. Repeat with the rest of the filo and fillings - you should get about 12 rolls. Cut each roll into four to make 48 large baklava, or eight to make 96 mini.
• Brush with the remaining melted butter. Bake for 20-25 mins until evenly golden, turning the tray around halfway through. While still hot, immediately pour over 5-6 ladlefuls of the syrup. You should hear the syrup sizzle as it hits the hot baklava. Set aside to cool and absorb.
• Melt the dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, ensuring the bowl doesn't touch the water, or in the microwave in short bursts. Drizzle this over the cooled baklava and sprinkle with the ground pistachios.

Steps:

• Un-roll the pastry sheet onto a lightly floured surface, mix the cocoa powder and icing sugar together. Use a sieve to sprinkle all over the pastry sheet, then fold in half like a book and chill for 15 mins. On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry sheet into a slightly larger rectangle, big enough to line a 20cm tart tin. Line the tin, leaving any overhanging pastry - you'll trim this away once the tart is baked. Chill for 30 mins on a baking tray. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
• Line the pastry with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans. Bake for 15-20 mins, then remove the paper and beans and bake for 15 mins more, until cooked through. Remove from the oven and leave the case to cool in its tin, then trim the sides.
• While the pastry is cooling, make the date caramel. Warm the coconut milk until steaming, then pour 120ml of the coconut milk over the dates. Soak for 5 mins then tip into a food processor with the vanilla extract and a big pinch of flaky salt. Blitz until smooth. Spread the caramel onto the base of the tart and put in the fridge for 30 mins to set a little.
• To make the ganache topping, heat the remaining coconut milk over a low heat until steaming. Put the chocolate and coconut oil in a large bowl and pour the warm coconut milk over the top. Leave to sit for a minute, then gently stir until combined. Spoon the mixture over the caramel and spread it out - don't worry if the caramel comes up the sides a bit. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and leave to set in the fridge for about an hour, then bring to room temperature before slicing and serving.

Steps:

• Butter a 15x10x1-in. baking pans. Unroll one package of phyllo dough; cut stack into a 10-1/2x9-in. rectangle. Repeat with remaining phyllo. Discard scraps., Line bottom of prepared pan with two sheets of phyllo dough (sheets will overlap slightly). Brush with butter. Repeat layers 8 times. (Keep dough covered with plastic wrap and a damp towel until ready to use to prevent it from drying out.), In a large bowl, combine the nuts, chocolate chips, sugar, cinnamon and lemon zest. Sprinkle 2 cups over top layer of phyllo., Top with four layers phyllo dough, buttering each layer. Top with 2 or more cups nut mixture. Top with four layers phyllo dough, buttering each layer; top with remaining nut mixture. Top with the remaining phyllo dough, brushing each layer with butter. Drizzle any remaining butter over top. , Using a sharp knife, cut baklava into 1-1/2-in. diamonds. Bake at 325° for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, combine the syrup ingredients in a saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Pour over warm baklava. Cool completely in pans on wire racks.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 10x14-inch baking pan with butter.
• Mix pecans, dark chocolate, 3/4 cup sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl. Trim phyllo dough to fit prepared baking pan. Layer 8 sheets of phyllo dough in prepared baking pan, brushing each sheet with melted butter; sprinkle with 2 cups pecan mixture. Spread butter on 4 more sheets of phyllo and layer over pecans; sprinkle with 2 more cups pecans. Repeat layers with 4 more sheets of phyllo and remaining pecans. Pour any leftover butter over baklava.
• Cut through the top few layers of phyllo lengthwise, leaving bottom layer intact, to create 4 long rows. Make evenly-spaced zigzag cuts along each row to create small triangles, again leaving bottom layer of phyllo intact.
• Bake in preheated oven until phyllo dough is golden brown and flaky, about 1 hour; immediately finish cutting through to bottom layer of baklava.
• Bring orange juice, honey, water, 1/2 cup sugar, and lemon juice to a boil in a saucepan; reduce heat to medium and simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes. Pour sauce over baklava.
• Melt remaining 2 ounces chocolate and 1 teaspoon butter in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring frequently and scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching. Drizzle chocolate over baklava. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.