Citrus Pound Cake

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Citrus Pound Cake with a citrus syrup, lightly spiced whipped cream, and lemon curd. 
Citrus Pound Cake = flavored with lemon, lime, and orange
Citrus Syrup = reduction of orange juice and lime juice with sugar
Lightly Spiced Whipped Cream = flavored with ginger and nutmeg
Lemon Curd
Lime Twist
Fresh Mint Leaf

Baked Figs

Baked Figs
fresh figs, tough top and bottom cut off, halved
sweet citrus spice syrup (see )
phyllo pastry
egg wash, water, oil, or melted butter

Toss the fig halves in the syrup until well coated. Lay a sheet of phyllo pastry out, brush with egg wash, butter, or oil (whatever you find tastes the best and sticks the best) and repeat with a few more sheets. Place one fig half (with some syrup) on top and wrap it, closing up the pastry in whatever shape desired and securing with a little or egg or butter or oil. Place pastries on a parchment-lined baking tray and bake at 350◦F for a few minutes until lightly browned and crisp. Serve warm or at room temperature, with some extra syrup to dip if desired.

This is a quick recipe I came up with to go with baklava when I had some extra ingredients. It makes an easy, different not too-sweet dessert or an interesting addition to a cheese platter.

Gluten-Free Baklava

Gluten-Free Baklava
1/4 cup rice flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch salt
1 teaspoon granulated (white) sugar
1 Tablespoon oil
1-2 Tablespoons milk

Mix all together to form a dough. It may require more flour or milk. This dough will not be as smooth and easy to work with as a biscuit dough containing gluten, but just do your best if it rips or tears. Press it out into a thin rectangle. Spread with baklava filling (ensure it has not been contaminated with the phyllo dough). Prepare as for regular baklava, though check it early - it may not need to bake as long. Ensure the syrup for the gluten-free baklava has been kept in a separate container to avoid contamination. Makes about four mini baklava rolls.

When making baklava the other week, I had someone with a gluten intolerance. So I made a miniature batch of baklava especially for them. It wasn't too much extra work to make up this quick dough, you just need to be wary of cross-contamination. Flaky phyllo pastry contains gluten and I haven't seen a reliable gluten-free version available out there. So these pastries are not quite the same as baklava but it gives the same idea and at least this way it is the same filling and syrup.

Sweet Citrus Spice Syrup

Sweet Citrus Spice Syrup
1/2 cup honey
1 Tablespoon pomegranate molasses
1 Tablespoon jallab syrup
2 teaspoons rosewater
2 teaspoons orange blossom water
juice and zest of one large orange
juice and zest of one large lemon
juice and zest of two small limes
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground mace
4 Cardamom pods
2 whole star anise
1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out
3 fresh figs, halved

Combine all in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer for thirty minutes or so until syrup is reduced and slightly thickened, it should not thickly coat a spoon but should begin to stick to a spoon, as it will thicken much more upon cooling. Remove from heat and strain syrup through a fine chinoise. Set aside to cool.

The original purpose for this syrup was to brush over baklava immediately after they are removed from the oven to give baklava its characteristic crisp texture and sticky sweet flavor. For this purpose, the syrup should basically be honey/maple syrup consistency. Molasses consistency is slightly too thick, anything thinner is too runny. It should be easily brushed on the delicate fillo/phyllo pastry without running off. It can be reheated gently or cooled longer in order to reach the right consistency.

This syrup could be used for a variety of other purposes as well. It has so much flavor - citrus, spice, and sweet, and is one of those rare occasions I created a great sweet item without chocolate or even caramel. Try this syrup (in a slightly thinner state) for soaking spongecakes, as a glaze for cookies to decorate them, to poach or bake figs, as a glaze for coffee cake, as a base glaze for meat or fish, etc. It will keep for ages in the refrigerator.
Don't be daunted by the long list of ingredients either - most of them are common spices or fruits, and the specialty ingredients are not too difficult to find and will keep for a long time, but if you can't find one of them, leave it out and sub some more of another flavor if desired.

Baklava

Baklava
one box phyllo (filo) pastry, thawed and at room temperature (keep well wrapped and cover any pastry with a damp tea towel when not in use. It dried out and becomes brittle and impossible to work with immediately)
dried fruit and nut filling (recipe will follow tomorrow)
Sweet citrus spice syrup (recipe will follow the next day)
olive oil

Preheat oven to 350◦F. Line a cookie sheet or baking tray with parchment paper.
Prepare sweet citrus spice syrup, then set aside to cool and thicken.
Prepare dried fruit and nut filling.
Lay one sheet of pastry on a clean, flat work surface. Gently brush all over with olive oil. Repeat with nine more sheets of pastry. Spread top sheet gently and evenly with the filling, you may not use quite all of it. Place another sheet of pastry on top and brush with olive oil and repeat with nine more sheets of pastry.
Gently roll the entire mass up tightly from a long end, jelly-roll or cinnamon roll style. Brush top with a little additional oil. Gently use a sharp knife to slice into sixteen equal pieces, trim off the ends where there is not much filling and discard. Gently place the pastries filling side up on prepared baking tray (they can be close together). Bake for about 20 minutes until crisp and golden.
Remove from oven and brush tops and sides with the syrup, let stand for a few minutes, then turn pastries over and brush again. Let cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I have been wanting to make baklava for quite some time now, as I have never even tried it before but it looks so good! I decided to go for it during our middle eastern buffets and was certainly glad I did. I put my own spin on it, as most fillings only have nuts and no dried fruit, and I added extra flavor to my syrup. The big change though, was the way I formed my baklava. Normally the pastry is either divided into squares and individually rolled or formed, or it is baked in a rectangular pan in one big mass, cut before baking, and served as squares. However, the phyllo pastry I had taken out to thaw for myself was used by someone else, and was left uncovered and dried out. This made it impossible to scrounge up hardly any full sheets, so I could not form the baklava in the traditional way. I used any almost full sheets for the bottom few layers, then crumbled the pieces over top of this and drizzled them with oil as best I could, then rolled it up like a cinnamon roll. Thankfully, it worked, and I like this look of baklava even better than the traditional!

The lessons here are to be very careful with phyllo pastry - keep it wrapped and covered at all times, otherwise it dries out and will not be flexible at all; it will break and not bend. If however it is too late, this method will work for dry phyllo pastry, so don't throw it all out yet. Whether your pastry is moist or dried, this recipe is tasty!