The True Turkish Delight
Anyone familiar with C.S. Lewis’ classic The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is familiar with Turkish delights. The divine concoction of sugar, nuts, gel, and a host of toppings given to Edmund by the White Queen to have him do her bidding. Though the true Turkish delights are tasty, in my humble opinion, they don’t hold a candle to Baklava. For centuries, baklava has been the dessert of choice among people of the Middle East, Greece, and Central Asia. It’s what Jesus and Mohammed ate! It is what bridges the Arabs and Jews together! And why not? Baklava is divine! We here at Naturopathic Earth offer our own baklava recipe, but for our gluten-free aficionados we have concocted a coconut sugar baklava.
Unlike many desserts which are injurious to our health due to excessive sugar, vegetable oil, dairy, and flour, our coconut sugar baklava is quite healthy. Its main ingredient, nuts and organic butter, are mainstays in the clean eating, paleo, and ketogenic world. And the side ingredients for the mix & syrup (lemon, orange, honey, etc) are made with quality, clean eating ingredients. Even coconut sugar has replaced the granulated sugar to lend its name of the coconut sugar baklava.
Ingredients
- 1 16oz Package of Phyllo Dough
- 3 Sticks of Organic Butter (for brushing)
- For the Filling
- 3 cups of Chopped Walnuts
- 3 cups of Chopped Pistachios
- 1/2 cup of Coconut Sugar
- 4 Tbsp of Melted Organic Butter
- 1-1/2 tsp of Cinnamon
- Zest of One Lemon
- Zest of One Orange
- 1/4 tsp of Salt
- For the Syrup
- 1/2 cup of Coconut Sugar
- 3/4 cup of Honey
- 1 Cup of Water
- 2 tsp of Vanilla Extract
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- In a food process add the walnuts and pistachios and pulse until finely chopped.
- Add nuts to a large bowl and mix in coconut sugar, lemon zest, orange zest, butter, cinnamon and salt. Mix well and set aside.
- In a small saucepan, add the 3 sticks of butter (approx. 1 1/2 cups) and melt over a medium-low heat. Remove from heat to cool.
- Unwrap the phyllo dough (make sure you remove phyllo from freezer and let thaw in refrigerator throughout the day prior to use.)
- Trip the dough to fit the 9X13" backing pain. While working on pastry make sure to cover dough with damp kitchen towel to prevent drying out of phyllo.
- Brush some of the cooled butter on the bottom of the baking pan, then lay a layer of phyllo on the pan, and slightly brush it with butter.
- Keep layering phyllo and brushing each individual layer with butter for 6 layers.
- Apply 3/4 cup of the nut mix, then repeat 6 layers of buttered phyllo, followed by 3/4 of the nut mix again. Continue this pattern until you run out of nut mix. Apply on the top layer 8 layers of phyllo or as much as you have left. Butter the top layer.
- Cut the baklava all the way through into squares (or diagonals if you prefer). Bake the Turkish delight for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown.
- While the baklava is in the oven, prepare the syrup. Combine the water, honey, coconut sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves (approx. 5 minutes). Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Once baklava is baked, pour the honey syrup immediately over it. Lightly cover with a kitchen towel and let it cool in room temperature for several hours before serving.
Notes
The nut combination is at your discretion. You may use almonds and pecans in addition to or replacing the walnuts and pistachios.
I have been a firm proponent of Middle Eastern food for decades. The lean cuts of gyro and lamb…the heart-healthy side dishes of baba ganoush, hummus, dolma, feta cheese, & eggplant…and the piece de resistance of delectable, warm, flaky naan bread. You must give it a try!
{Read our article or listen to our podcast on the Clean Eating Guide to Eating Out.}
After your heavenly meal come home to your homemade baklava. If done properly our coconut sugar baklava will be a mainstay on your table. The satiating fat of the nuts and butter, coupled with subtle sweetness of the honey and coconut sugar, will electrify your palate!
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A. Gregory Luna
(Please share us your recipes or overall comments.)