Valentine’s Day Baklava – RECIPE
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Sometimes the most romantic gesture isn’t chocolates or roses, but rather something more creative. Guest author and pastry chef William McCarrick explains how to make his famous chocolate baklava for your sweetheart this Valentine’s Day.
Chocolates and roses are so ordinary for Valentine’s Day. Why not turn it up a notch?
That’s exactly what executive pastry chef and master chocolatier, William McCarrick, and baklava guru, Duran Gunes, did. While working in the pastry kitchen of the Turkish hotel, Ciragan Palace Kempinski Istanbul, the two came up with a twist on this traditional Turkish pastry.
And now, you can surprise your special someone this Valentine’s Day and get a taste of Anatolia in your own home with McCarrick and Gunes’ recipe for incredible chocolate baklava:
Ingredients for 20 pieces
For the Filling
- ¼ tbsp – gram spice mix
- 42 oz – pomegranate juice
- 26.5 oz – cream
- 8.5 oz – sugar
- 77 oz – bitter couverture (bittersweet dark chocolate)
For the Syrup
- 2 cups (1 lb) sugar
- 2 cups (16 fl oz) water
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
For the Cover
- 40 sheet filo pastry
12 Steps to Decadent Chocolate Baklava
- Place all the ingredients in the Filling section in a bowl.
- Combine until blended.
- Place all the ingredients in the Syrup section together in a saucepan and bring to a boil, while stirring for the sugar to dissolve. Simmer for 10 minutes and leave it aside to cool.
- Brush a 12″ x 10″ baking dish with butter.
- Brush 10 sheets of filo with melted butter.
- Lay them on the dish one by one.
- Spread the filling in the dish.
- Now top it off with further 10-12 sheets of pastry, buttering each sheet as needed. (You can trim off the excess pastry hanging on the side of your baking dish). Brush the top of the pastry with more butter.
- With a sharp knife, score the top layers in large diamond shapes.
- Bake at 3250F for 1 hour or until the top turns golden brown. If you find that the top is turning color too quickly, then cover the top with foil.
- Remove from the oven and slowly pour the syrup over the top.
- Now comes the most difficult part: Let it sit for at least 5-6 hours to absorb the syrup.
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William McCarrick is the executive pastry chef at Ciragan Palace Kempinski Istanbul and co-founder of Sir Hans Sloane Chocolates. McCarrick has previously served as executive pastry chef at five-star hotels, such as the Grand Hyatt Melbourne and the Ritz Carlton in Bali and Dubai. McCarrick also served in this same position at the renowned department store Harrods of London. He has won numerous international awards including the 2009 Great Taste Awards, the 2007 Academy of Chocolate Awards, and the 2007 World Chocolate Awards.