Happy New Year, friends! We’re starting off 2015 with something very rich, chocolate-y, buttery, sticky, sweet, and spiked with bourbon.
Let’s say that again: rich, chocolate-y, buttery, sticky, sweet, and spiked with bourbon.
Is there a better way to welcome in the new year?
If you answered, “how about by being healthy and eating healthy stuff?” then please check out the Featured Recipes on the right hand rail of this blog, and stay tuned for next week’s post.
If you answered, “YES! Let’s eat this and celebrate and be deliriously happy because life is short and O.M.G. chocolate baklava?!?!” then we have three scenarios: 1) we are real life friends, 2) we are internet friends, 3) we are soul mates. Please read on.
I made this Chocolate Hazelnut Baklava for my Supper Club girls last month. We had a Middle Eastern themed potluck for our holiday dinner, and (surprise) I volunteered to bring dessert. I had a few cookies in mind and several recipes pinned (we even have a group board for it) but I decided to go with something close to my heart: chocolate. And butter. And a teeny bit of alcohol.
As you guys know, I like desserts laced with alcohol (hello Double Chocolate Cookies with Boozy Cherries, Chocolate Rum and Dulce de Leche Pie, and Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pies). This baklava doesn’t immediately taste like bourbon, because the bourbon is mixed in with the honey, and I use just a small amount for the entire batch. But the bourbon definitely adds a little more warmth and depth to each bite.
I loved toasting the hazelnuts and actually enjoyed rubbing off the skins – they blister after you toast the nuts in the oven. I used Turkish honey from Trader Joe’s but you can use any kind of honey. I also added some orange blossom water to the honey bourbon mixture for a little more exotic flavor and scent. I always think of Seville, Spain when I hear orange blossoms, but orange blossom water is also a common ingredient in Middle Eastern desserts. Last but not least, it was my first time using frozen phyllo dough and I have to say that it was as easy as using frozen puff pastry – sure, it was a little more delicate, but with this recipe, it didn’t matter if the sheets tore a little or weren’t aligned with precision.
Even though this chocolate baklava isn’t very traditional or common, it was a lovely ending to our Middle East feast. Check out some of the other dishes we ate that night:
We had Moroccan couscous, harissa roasted carrots with yogurt, dukkah chicken, and shakshuka (poached eggs in tomato sauce) with lamb meatballs (!). Plus shirazi (cucumber salad) and more bottles of wine than the dinner party attendees. We also had some killer appetizers: whipped feta, spicy labne, olives, dates, apricots, cheese, pita chips, sesame chips, ful medames (an Egyptian dish of cooked fava beans and hard boiled eggs) and a delicious gyro dip. That’s right, a dip that tastes just like a gyro – the recipe is from my friend Dan over at The Food in My Beard.
You can only imagine that by the time we were ready for dessert and tea (spiked or not), we were all very happy. This Chocolate Hazelnut Baklava was the perfect ending to a nice dinner with some of my favorite gals. It’s a little slice of heaven.
I first had chocolate baklava at Sofra, a delightful little Middle Eastern cafe here in Boston, and the recipe I used is based on their version. The recipe below has a lot of steps, but don’t be intimidated! This was actually a very easy dessert to make. I just tried to write down all the details and be as specific as possible. The most important thing to remember is that you have to let the baklava rest and soak in the honey for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
1 1/2 cups hazelnuts
1 lb box frozen phyllo dough
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted
1 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used a mix of dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and bittersweet)
1 cup honey
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon orange blossom water
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/4 cup bourbon
If you don't have orange blossom water, just omit and add another teaspoon of orange zest.
If you don't like bourbon, you can replace with rum or brandy. If you would prefer to keep this alcohol free, just omit and increase water by a quarter cup.
Remember to let the baklava rest and soak in the honey mixture for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
Recipe adapted from Food & Wine
Do you have any favorite Middle Eastern recipes? I’d like to try more this year!