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Baklava – A Sweet Indulgence with Wheatgerm and Healthy Nuts & Fruits

27 June 2011 31 Comments

Never thought I would ever bake a Baklava and post it on Lite Bite, till I got to see the Daring Baker challenge of this month. A classic Greek specialty baked with flaky phyllo dough, stuffed with nuts and soaked in sugar syrup, yes I avoided it for all the good reasons, refined flour, loads of butter and the sugar syrup to name a few.

The Baklava I baked for the DB challenge has some of my favorite healthy ingredients. Wheat germ in the phyllo dough, pumpkin seeds, Charoli seeds, black currents, pistachio, walnuts and honey, which of course does make me less guilty of baking a Baklava To my surprise wheat germ gave a very crisp pastry and does not hamper the stretching property of refined flour.

Erica of Erica’s Edibles was our host for the Daring Baker’s June challenge. Erica challenged us to be truly DARING by making homemade phyllo dough and then to use that homemade dough to make Baklava.

Wheat germ with the flour

Ingredients;

For the Phyllo Pastry

1/4 cup Wheat germ
1 cup All purpose flour
1 tbsp water
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
A pinch of salt

Healthy nuts and fruit combo

For the Filling

Nuts (pistachio, Charoili, walnuts)
dried fruits (black current or raisins)
Melon seeds
1 tsp. cinnamon powder
1 tbsp. brown sugar/palm sugar
2 tbsp. melted butter for coating

For the syrup

11/2 cups of water
1/4 cup honey
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. lemon zest

Ready to go in the oven..

Method; Take a large vessel and mix all the ingredients for the phyllo pastry and knead well. Make small balls of the dough and roll as thin as possible. I got 10 small phyllo sheets. Spread all the sheets on a plate or a paper, cover with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out.

Grind the fillings in a grinder to a coarse powder.

Boil water and sugar and make a thing syrup. Take off the flame and add honey and the lemon zest to it.

Take a flat rectangular baking tin and grease it with oil. Spread a phyllo sheet on it and brush it with melted butter, add another sheet. Brush again with a little oil and sprinkle a generous amount of the filling over it. Cover it with another phyllo sheet. Repeat the same process till all the sheets and filling is consumed. The top layer should have 5-6 phyllo sheets.

Make incision with a sharp knife as shown in the picture into diamond and square shapes. Bake the pastry at 180°C for 40 minutes or till the top sheet is golden and crisp.

Baked Wheatgerm Baklava

Remove Baklava from the oven and pour the prepared syrup over it. Let it cool and serve the individual pieces in a cup cake liner or small bowls. Baklava without the syrup is scrumptious too. I am loving this delicate and nutty indulgence in Baklava and will be baking it more often with my favorite ingredients without compromising on health.

Melt-in-mouth Baklava!

Notes;

Make the phyllo sheets using refined flour for more crisp and flaky pastry.
Refined flour is important for the phyllo dough as it can be stretched to make real thin sheets. Wheat germ in the dough did not hamper this quality of the flour and can be replaced easily if you are looking for some healthy options for Baklava.
If the whole process of assembling and rolling out the thin sheets seem intimidating you can purchase ready made phyllo sheets available in many specialty stores.

You may like these healthy recipes on Lite Bite;

Pears pie with wholewheat and palm sugar

Healthy Vegetable Eggless Quiche

Ragi or finger millet cookies

31 Comments »

chinmayie @ love food eat said:

WOW! I can’t believe you have transformed something like Baklava into a healthy dish! It looks really delicious! I remember seeing Baklava recipe several times and telling myself that I will never be making it as i will just feel super guilty eating it!
Thanks for this wonderful recipe!!

# 27 June 2011 at 10:30 pm

Saee Koranne-Khandekar said:

Hey! I loved your “Lite bite” take on the sinful dessert. Will try your version.
Saee Koranne-Khandekar recently posted..Amitabh Bachchan’s fruit and a shortcut to happiness| Recipe: Peach and Cherry Cake Squares

# 27 June 2011 at 10:59 pm

Hari Chandana said:

Wowwwwwwwwwwww.. looks so cute and delicious.. Gr8 preparation !!
Indian Cuisine

Hari Chandana recently posted..Aratikaya Koora ~ Simple Plantain Curry

# 27 June 2011 at 11:07 pm

kouky said:

I love so much your baklawa!!original and amazing job!
kouky recently posted..Baklawa fleurie avec pâte phyllo maison pour mon 3ème Daring Baker

# 28 June 2011 at 1:34 am

Junia @ Mis Pensamientos said:

wow, baklava with no butter?! amazing!!!! this looks soo good still. great recipe
Junia @ Mis Pensamientos recently posted..Chickpea Lettuce Tacos

# 28 June 2011 at 1:36 am

Swathi said:

Baklava looks dleicious, adding wheat germ is nice idea.
Swathi recently posted..Lobia curry/ Black eyed peas cooked in spiced onion tomato gravy

# 28 June 2011 at 3:17 am

Priya (Yallapantula) Mitharwal said:

yum, that is a wonderful invention
Priya (Yallapantula) Mitharwal recently posted..Bookmarked Recipes – Every Tuesday Event – 28st June 2011 (Volume 47)

# 28 June 2011 at 4:15 am

aipi said:

Now here’s a baklava that you can go nuts with ( no pun intended)
What a creation!
US Masala
aipi recently posted..Gajar Halwa/Carrot Pudding

# 28 June 2011 at 4:21 am

Premalatha Aravindhan said:

Hi Sanjeeta,

H r u? Missed many of ur recipes:(
Baklava luks very tempting…

# 28 June 2011 at 6:25 am

Kalyani said:

ooh !! what a sinful indulgence !!! drooooling !!

Cheers
Kalyani

# 28 June 2011 at 9:43 am

Priya said:

Wow wat a fabulous baklavas, simply looks out of the world;.
Priya recently posted..Poha Tomato Bhath

# 28 June 2011 at 2:55 pm

Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen said:

What a great re-make. I would not have thought this was a dessert that could be lighted up but you have done it beautifully.
Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen recently posted..watermelon, heirloom tomato and feta salad | picking the perfect melon

# 28 June 2011 at 3:26 pm

Raks said:

Nice twist to baklava,yummy it looks!

# 28 June 2011 at 5:07 pm

Biren @ Roti n Rice said:

You are always so creative in turning sweet indulgences to healthier options. This looks wonderful!

# 28 June 2011 at 6:48 pm

Faith said:

Your healthy twist on baklava is wonderful! This is one dessert I would really love to try!!
Faith recently posted..One Skillet Sausage, Lentil, & Veggie Supper {Perfect for the Campfire!}

# 28 June 2011 at 7:32 pm

geetanjali said:

the moment i saw it , I knew i have to try it, so there I was , tried and wow its turned out so wonderful and yummy. thanks a million for making dessert time soooooo interesting. love u for this.

# 28 June 2011 at 10:19 pm

Feng said:

This looks really delicious, yum!
Feng recently posted..Baklava (Daring Bakers Challenge June 2011)

# 29 June 2011 at 12:19 am

Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said:

Your healthy baklava looks just as tempting as those with 10x the fat . Great job on this DB challenge!
Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets recently posted..6 Bittersweets Turns 2! (Raspberry Tres Leches Cake and Mango Mascarpone Macarons)

# 29 June 2011 at 1:12 am

sanjeeta kk (author) said:

@Geetanjali, Thanks for trying out and writing your views here. Have a great time!

# 29 June 2011 at 9:44 am

amita said:

wow. I NEVER THOUGHT I CAN MAKE BAKLAVA. HEARD SO MUCH ABOUT THIS SWEET. THANKS A LOT FOR GIVING THIS RECEIPE.

# 29 June 2011 at 12:16 pm

sanjeeta kk (author) said:

@Amita, Welcome, hope you make this dessert and enjoy!

# 29 June 2011 at 12:53 pm

Pachecopatty said:

I’m so impressed with your healthy take on baklava, it looks beautiful with all your healthy tweaks, better than the original;-)

# 29 June 2011 at 6:13 pm

sanjeeta kk (author) said:

@Pachecopatty, Thanks a lot for your appreciation!

# 29 June 2011 at 6:23 pm

Jenni said:

Fantastic job! Your baklava sound utterly wonderful! Triple points to you for making taking sticky sweet treat and making it healthy (er)! It looks great!!
Jenni recently posted..The Daring Bakers Make Baklava!

# 29 June 2011 at 9:54 pm

Yuri said:

So beautiful! I must try making my own phyllo dough, I cheated by using the store-bought kind… Love this healthified version, it sounds tastier than regular baklava
Yuri recently posted..White Chocolate Baklava Cigars ~ Daring Bakers June 2011

# 30 June 2011 at 1:02 am

rebecca said:

wow great job on the baklava your such a great cook and baker
rebecca recently posted..What’s All This About @Klout?

# 30 June 2011 at 8:57 am

Angie@Angiesrecipes said:

Your healthy version of Baklava looks terrific! Love wheatgerm!
Angie@Angiesrecipes recently posted..Provençal Tomatoes

# 1 July 2011 at 12:46 am

Karriann Graf said:

Gorgeous Baklava and I love the healthy kick you’ve done. Happy Baking!

# 1 July 2011 at 5:06 am

FOODESSA said:

Not only did you succeed in making your own Sanjeeta twist on the phyllo dough…you also managed to make the Baklava a little less of a guilty pleasure. Well done ;o)

Have a great weekend and flavourful wishes,
Claudia
FOODESSA recently posted..Fool twice BERRY light COOL delights

# 1 July 2011 at 10:12 pm

sanjeeta kk (author) said:

@Claudia, Thanks! Your comments always bring a smile on my face, and to tell the truth I really wait for it (your comments) to complete my posts. Love you, tight hugs.

# 1 July 2011 at 10:20 pm