Baklava is one of these things that I did not use to like until I came of age. When my gran brought it back from one of her travels to Turkey when I was young, I pronounced it ‘too sweet’ (can you believe it?) while shoving a handful of nasty, perfumed, artificially-coloured, heart-shaped sweets into my face. Classy, eh? 🙂
When I moved to London, I got to taste this Middle-Eastern treat again and fell in love with it immediately. I was lucky enough to live near one of the most famous baklava destinations and going out for a piece of baklava and an espresso had become a weekend ritual for me and my then boyfriend. I have to agree with my younger self, on its own baklava may send your taste buds into a sensory overload, but when paired with strong, black coffee it really hits the spot. Baklava is very popular in Greece too and if not for the fact that I’m vegan, I would be tempted to simply buy it from time to time. Unfortunately, as most baklava contains a prolific amount of butter (and often honey), I now make my own when the craving strikes. It’s really quite easy to make so please don’t be intimidated. Plus, even though these vegan baklava cigars obviously aren’t a health food, they are way healthier than traditional baklava (yet just as indulgent). I used a small amount of mild olive oil instead of melted butter and maple syrup instead of sugar and honey. Learning from my previous attempts, I brushed every pastry sheet with only a small amount of oil to get a crispy and grease-free end result and I’m pleased to say that all four of my taste testers made loads of approving noises during consumption so I’m confident you’ll love them too.
¾ cup / 180 ml freshly squeezed orange juice (or water + lemon juice to taste) ¼ cup / 60 ml maple syrup ½ vanilla bean, seeds scraped
BAKLAVA CIGARS
1 cup / approx. 130 g almonds 1 cup / approx. 100 g walnuts zest of 1 lemon zest of 1-2 oranges 1½ tsp ground cinnamon 1/8 tsp fine sea salt ¼ cup + 1 tbsp / 75 ml maple syrup 3 vegan filo pastry sheets (mine were 35 x 46 cm / 14 x 18 “), thawed* 2 tbsp mild olive oil 1 tbsp shelled pistachios, very finely chopped
