How to make
One glass of milk is heated and the other one, which is mixed with semolina, is poured into it. Boil until it thickens, while stirring constantly. Remove it from the heat and when it cools down, add the cream or sour cream. Stir again until a homogeneous mixture is obtained.
The nuts are ground or finely chopped. Melt the butter over low heat.
Take the baklava sheets and grease one sheet with butter, sprinkle it with walnuts, put another one on top and so on until you run out of half of the amount. Then the filling of semolina and cream is evenly distributed and the remaining baklava sheets with walnuts are arranged on top on the same principle. There will be some butter left, which will be used later. Cut it into small pieces.
Bake the baklava at 300°F (150 degrees) so that it can dry well. During baking, grease it with butter several times on top profusely. This method was shared with me by a Turkish friend.
When it aquires a golden color, take it out of the oven and leave it to cool. It is left overnight in a cool place, not a humid room, so that way it will dry even more, although baking at low temperatures has also done its job. Here it is important to know that if it is baked at high temperatures, the baklava is toasted only at the top and bottom and the inside remains raw!
Prepare a syrup from the listed products, which is boiled for 15 minutes. The citrus peels are removed, 2-3 drops of lemon juice are added to prevent it from caramelising any further.
Pour the hot syrup over the baklava and let it soak for a few hours or overnight.
To some it may seem like a lot for these baklava sheets, but it's perfect for my taste because I love juicy, well-syruped baklava, with lots of butter and walnuts and an amazing filling.
Before serving, sprinkle it with finely ground pistachios, which are roasted in a non greased pan if raw. This is how they will release their scent.
A sweet pleasure that will not leave anyone indifferent!
Happy Holidays!
