Almond Crisp Created by Jon Payne
Place the sugar, honey and water in a saucepan and bring to a strong boil. Place the almonds in the food processor and grind until coarse. Remove the boiling sugar from the heat and pour over the coarse almonds. Blend until smooth. This may take 10 minutes or more, depending on the strength of the food processor. Remember, food processors are not usually strong enough to yield the same consistency as the almond paste that you can buy. If your mixture is too thick and the food processor is straining, you can add Almond Syrup to the processor. Add the liquid slowly and stop when the processor is moving more freely. The quality of almond paste is determined by how smooth the consistency is. Wrap the almond paste in plastic wrap and allow it to cool. When you are ready to use it, knead in the butter. The butter makes it smooth and not so sticky. Brush a 13 by 9-inch baking pan with melted butter and set aside. Unroll the phyllo dough and lay the sheets flat on a work surface. Keep the pastry covered with a damp, not wet, towel as you work to prevent drying out. To build the baklava, you will alternate 3 layers of dough with 2 layers of nuts. Start with a stable base of 8 sheets on the bottom, brushing each with melted butter. Spread 1/2 the almond paste evenly over the stacked sheets. Cover with 4 sheets of phyllo, painting each with melted butter. Top the last layer with almond paste with 8 layers of phyllo as you did for the bottom. Drizzle any remaining butter over top. If you have time, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes so the butter will set and make the baklava easier to cut. Using a sharp knife, make 5 cuts across lengthwise, then cut diagonally to form diamonds. This pastry is more difficult to cut after it is cooked because the pastry becomes so flaky. Bake for about 40 minutes until golden and flaky.
|