The classic, sweet, and satisfying baklava with a TCM twist that replenishes kidney essence for anti-aging and hair health.
Category
Dessert
Servings
Makes about 24 triangles
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour 5 minutes
Five Seasons TCM
Ingredients
1 cups natural cane sugar 甘蔗糖
1 cup jujube date tea (make from boiling jujube in water for at least 15 minutes) 红枣水
1/2 cup pomegranate molasses or honey or maple syrup 石榴糖漿/蜜糖/枫糖
2 tablespoon grated lemon or orange peel 柠檬/橘子皮
1 pack frozen phyllo dough, thawed (16oz)
½ cup walnuts, chopped 核桃
⅓ cup black sesame, toasted 黑芝麻
⅓ cup jujube date, pitted and finely chopped 红枣
½ lb butter or ghee or vegan butter, melted 黄油
¼ cup brown sugar 红糖
½ tsp cinnamon 肉桂
½ tsp clove 丁香
2 tsp He Shou Wu powder (optional) 何首乌粉
For syrup:
For baklava:
Directions
*Thaw baklava dough overnight and let cool to room temperature for 1 hour before starting the recipe.
First make the syrup.
Mix cane sugar, jujube date water, maple syrup and grated lemon in a stovetop pan and let simmer over medium heat for about 15 minutes . Let it cool completely while you prepare and bake your baklava.
Next make the baklava.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Trim dough to fit over your baking sheet (cover with a damp towel if needed to keep from drying out).
Finely chop walnuts and jujube dates. In a small bowl, mix chopped walnuts, jujube dates, black sesame, melted vegan butter or ghee, brown sugar, cinnamon, clove, and he shou wu (if using) until well combined.
Coat 3-4 layers of phyllo dough with butter and place chopped mixture all over this buttered dough. Repeat phyllo-nut layers until you reach 4-5 layers. Cut pastry into strips before baking (usually made into diamond shape). Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes until the top is golden brown. Make sure the bottom is baked through, not soggy.
Remove from the oven and pour syrup mix evenly over the top of the baked baklava. Let cool completely and serve at room temperature. Sprinkle sesame seeds as garnish.
Recipe Note
Function:
- Hair health and prevent hair loss
- Replenish kidney essence
- Replenish blood
