Bacon Baklava               

 tags (edit): Food & Wine Magazine @Vogel @Try Soon! Desserts  

 

Whether it’s a crisp shard garnishing bread pudding or crumbles on maple ice cream, bacon is subtly making its way into desserts. And not so subtly: When bacon impresario Dan Philips of the Grateful Palate collaborated on a bacon-themed dinner at The Brown hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, pastry chef Brian Logsdon created this bacon-studded baklava for dessert.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds bacon sliced
1 cup whole blanched almonds toasted and coarsely chopped
3/4 cup dates coarsely chopped
1 package phyllo dough
10 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons bourbon
zest of 1/2 orange finely grated


 

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°. In a skillet, fry the bacon in batches until crisp. Drain well and crumble. In a food processor, finely chop the bacon with the almonds and dates.

Butter a 9-by-13-inch metal baking pan. Lay a sheet of phyllo in the pan; trim the edges to fit and brush with butter. Repeat with 4 more phyllo sheets and butter. Spread 1 cup of the filling evenly over the phyllo. Repeat this layering of 5 phyllo sheets and bacon filling two more times. Top with 5 buttered phyllo sheets, buttering the top well.

With a small, sharp knife, cut the baklava into diamonds. Bake the baklava for 10 minutes. Turn the oven to 325° and bake for 1 hour longer, or until nicely browned.

Meanwhile, combine the sugar, maple syrup, water, bourbon and orange zest in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, then let cool to room temperature. Pour the cooled syrup over the hot baklava and let stand at room temperature uncovered overnight.

This recipe published with BigOven, and can be imported instantly by BigOven users viewing this page. Download your free trial at www.bigoven.com.


Yields: 35 Pieces
    
Food & Wine magazine, January 2007, page 49

notes: 

Cuisine:  

Main Ingredient: