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Truffle Honey & Rose Petal Baklava

Elevate your dessert game with the luxurious blend of pistachios, rosewater-infused syrup, and the unmistakable touch of Sabatino’s Truffle & Honey.

Ensure a flawless, crispy texture with every layer with our chef’s insider tips on phyllo dough.

Working with phyllo dough is easier than you think if you prepare your workspace beforehand. Keep your nut filling and melted butter on one side, dough covered on the other, and the baking pan in front of you. Accurately laying each piece of dough is key – grasp it by the upper corners, vertically aligning the lower edge with the previous layer, ensuring it sticks to the butter. Remember to cut the baklava before baking (with a knife or cookie cutter for fun shapes) and pour cool syrup over hot baklava for a crispy finish.

DIFFICULTY:

Moderate

INGREDIENTS

1 pound phyllo dough, defrosted overnight in the refrigerator
2 sticks + 2 tbsp unsalted butter

Filling
1 lb shelled pistachio nuts
⅛ tsp salt
1 tbsp Sugar

Syrup
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup water
⅛ tsp salt
¼ cup plus 1 tbsp (reserved) Truffle honey
1 tbsp rose water

Garnish
2 tbsp edible rose petals

METHOD

1

Filling prep: Add pistachios, sugar and salt to the bowl of a food processor and pulse to a finely ground (some larger pieces are fine). Reserve about ¼ cup to garnish with later. Set filling aside until assembling. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium low heat, skimming foam off the top as you go. Alternately melt in the microwave on 50% power, 30 seconds at a time until melted. Set aside with a pastry brush.
2

Dough prep: Unroll defrosted phyllo dough onto a clean, dry work surface. Place a 9x13x3 baking pan over the dough and cut dough to the size of the pan. With most phyllo dough, slicing the stack halfway down the dough (like a book) will give two equal halves that fit the pan, resulting in about 40 sheets. Cover with a barley damp towel (too damp will make the phyllo ‘doughy’ and hard to work with).
3

Make syrup: This can be done right after putting the baklava in the oven, but remember it needs to be cool when the baklava comes out of the oven. In a small saucepan, cook sugar and water over medium/ high heat until it comes to a boil, lower heat so the mixture simmers and stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, let cool about 4 minutes then stir in ¼ cup truffle honey and rosewater. Let cool.
4

Assemble: Brush the bottom of the baking dish with a thin coating of butter. Place a piece of phyllo dough covering the bottom of the pan. Brush the sheet of dough with butter to coat. Place another sheet on top and repeat until you’ve made a stack of ten sheets. Brush the 10th sheet with butter and spread ¼ of the filling over the surface of the dough. Top with a sheet of dough, brush with butter and repeat with 4 more sheets, make a stack of 5 sheets. Spread another ¼ cup filling and repeat with the phyllo and butter until you have 4 layers of filling, separated by 5 sheets of dough (don’t panic if you lose count). Finish with 10 layers of dough, buttered in between. Buttering the top layer as well. Use a sharp knife to cut into diamonds, vertically then diagonally, or your shape of choice.
5

Bake and finish: Bake at 350F about 45 minutes, until just golden. Remove Pistachio Rose Petal Baklava from the oven and immediately pour syrup evenly over the top. When ready to serve, drizzle with another Tablespoon of Truffle Honey and sprinkle the top with reserved pistachios and rose petals. Allow to sit for 4-6 hours before serving. Store at room temperature, covered with a tea towel up to one week.