- This baklava swaps the traditional walnuts or pistachios for toasted hazelnuts and bittersweet chocolate, creating a rich, Nutella-like flavor.
- A warm honey syrup poured over the hot pastry yields a perfect contrast of crisp and tender with deep, sticky sweetness.
- Although it requires multiple steps and a few hours to rest so the syrup fully soaks in, this dessert is best prepared in advance.
Ana Sortun’s pastry chef, Maura Kilpatrick, adds cinnamon and cocoa nibs to the syrup that soaks her chocolate baklava. The baklava is fabulous even with a basic honey syrup as prepared here; no need for cocoa nibs and cinnamon.
Can you eat hazelnut skins?
Hazelnut skins are edible but bitter, so removing them is a smart move. There are several ways to do so, but for this recipe, we like the “roast and rub” method — simply place the toasted nuts in a clean kitchen towel after they’ve cooled a bit, then use the towel to slough off the loose skins. Don’t worry if some stubborn patches won’t come off; once chopped and mixed with chocolate, a small amount of skin won’t be perceptible.
How do you keep phyllo dough from drying out?
Thin, delicate sheets of phyllo dough are prone to drying out quickly, so it’s important to keep the unused stack covered as you work. A piece of plastic wrap should do the trick, but if you find your dough is still becoming dry, try laying a damp — not wet — kitchen towel over the top.
Note from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen
Having a good pastry brush is key to evenly distributing the melted butter over the phyllo to create all those buttery, flaky layers — be sure to brush it on top of each sheet when making your stacks.
