Benden baklava

6 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
12 ounces Melted Clarified Butter Or Fat
4 ounces Vegetable Oil
32 ounces Pulverized Benden Nuts (Walnuts)
Powdered Bark Spice (Optional) (Cinnamon)
40 Leaves Of Flour-And-Water Dough Stretched To Paper Thinness
(Phylo Dough)
12 ounces Granulated Sweetening
¼ ounce Strained Citrus Juice
6 ounces Water
¼ ounce Sweet Syrup

Directions

Mix the butter and oil. Cut the dough to the shape of the baking pan by laying the pan on top of the stacked leaves. Butter the inside of the baking dish. Gently place one leaf of dough into the pan, carefully fitting it to the bottom of the pan. The leaves are very fragile, so fold to pick them up, and unfold when in place in the pan. Brush with the butter and oil mixture. Repeat with nine more sheets. Sprinkle with 3 Tbls of the powdered nuts (with optional spice to taste) on the tenth leaf. Open two more leaves of dough on top of the nut mixture, buttering each in its turn. Repeat with the nut mixture, then two more leave and so on until all is used. As the last two leaves are used, bursh the top with the butter and oil mixture.

With a very sharp knife, score the top of the pastry lightly , lengthwise, into four and then draw the knife diagonally to make a lozenge-shaped portion. Bake in a preheated 325 Degree F oven for 90 minutes.

Combine the next three ingredients in a saucepan. Cook until the sweetening dissolves. Boil for 5 minutes or unti la drop of it forms a soft ball when dropped into cold water. Remove from the heat and stir in the syrup. Cool. As soon as the pastry is baked, remove from the oven and pour the sweet mixture over it. Cool the pastry to room temperature before serving.

From The Dragonlover's Guide To Pern by Jody Lynn Nye With Anne Mc Caffrey

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