Wild Hibiscus Baklava

The Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup are a show stopper and tasty, too. This is a basic Baklava recipe with the addition of Wild Hibiscus Syrup and garnished with Wild Hibiscus Flowers. You can use these beauties to elevate just about any dish or beverage. I can’t wait to impress my friends with some Wild Hibiscus Flowers in champagne.

Wild Hibiscus Baklava
by Tracy Hersh

1/2 cup Wild Hibiscus Flowers syrup, flowers reserved for garnish
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup water
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1 16-ounce package of pyhllo dough, thawed according to package directions
1/2 pound unsalted butter, melted
2 cups walnuts, finely chopped
2 cups almonds, finely chopped
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Wild Hibiscus Flowers for garnish

Gently strain and separate the flowers from the syrup. Reserve the flowers for garnish. In a small saucepan, combine the syrup, honey, water, lemon juice and sugar. On medium high heat, stir until the sugar dissolves and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium and let boil for 5 minutes more without stirring. Remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Meanwhile, generously butter a 9 x 13 baking pan. Cut phyllo dough to fit the pan. I had to cut off about 1 inch because my dough was 9 x 14. Lay the phyllo dough on a flat clean surface and cover it with a damp towel. This keeps the phyllo from drying out. Remove 1 sheet of phyllo and place into the pan. Brush with some of the melted butter and repeat this process with 7 more sheets of phyllo, one at a time, brushing with butter. Be sure to keep the remaining phyllo under the damp towel at all times.

Mix the nuts with the cinnamon . Sprinkle about 3/4 cup of the nut mixture evenly over the 8 layers of phyllo. Now start layering phyllo brushed with butter again using 4 sheets of phyllo, then another 3/4 cup of the nuts. 4 more sheets phyllo and 3/4 cup nuts. 4 more sheets of phyllo brushed with butter, 3/4 cup nuts. 4 more sheets buttered phyllo and 3/4 cup nuts. Then the layer the top with 8 more sheets of buttered phyllo.

8 sheets phyllo, ¾ cup nuts
4 sheets phyllo, ¾ cup nuts
4 sheets phyllo, ¾ cup nuts
4 sheets phyllo, ¾ cup nuts
4 sheets phyllo, ¾ cup nuts
8 sheets phyllo

Before baking, gently cut the baklava into squares or diamonds. I cut mine into diamonds by cutting
2 1/4-inch strips lengthwise and then cutting diagonally across the pan to form diamonds. Bake in the oven 75 to 80 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and immediately pour the cooled syrup evenly over the baklava. Allow to sit overnight or several hours to cool and absorb the syrup completely. Serve with wild hibiscus flowers.