Baklava Inspired Apple Pastry

Baklava Inspired Apple Pastry (scroll down for tahini molasses riff!)

I can’t stop making variations of the gorgeous Apple & Honey Ruffle Milk Pie created by my friend Chef Sonya Sanford. It’s fancy looking but simple, forgivable, and fun to make. Sonya’s recipe is more cakey than mine as it includes 1 ½ cups milk. I leave the milk out for a gooey and crispy texture. Add in pistachios or walnuts (or hazelnuts, almonds…), orange blossom water, and cardamom, and it screams baklava.

Swap the fruit with what’s in season. If we are sticking with winter, persimmon is also great here and a sprinkle of pomegranate prior to serving makes this already festive dessert look even more celebratory.

Serves 8

10 large sheets of phyllo dough (13-14”x18”), thawed 
1 stick unsalted butter, melted (or vegan butter)
2 large eggs 
¼ cup light or dark brown sugar
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon 
½ teaspoon cardamom
1 small apple or ½ medium apple, sliced very thin
1/3 cup roughly chopped raw pistachio nuts (or walnuts or other nut)

For the syrup:
¼ cup honey
2 Tablespoons water
2 Tablespoons orange blossom water

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line and grease a 9” cake pan with parchment. Metal cake pans are best for this recipe, but you can also use a ceramic or glass deep dish pie pan, or a 9” springform pan. 

  2. Make sure that your phyllo dough is fully thawed according to the package instructions. Phyllo dough dries out very quickly, and in order to prevent that, lightly dampen a clean kitchen towel. Unroll the dough, and lie it flat on a clean surface. Cover it with the damp towel to keep it from drying out. Take out one sheet of phyllo dough at a time, and keep the rest covered. Generously brush the sheet of phyllo with melted butter. Scrunch the dough lengthwise on either side towards the center, so that the buttered phyllo sheet forms a long fan-like ruffle of dough. Starting on one end, loosely spiral the dough into a coil; it will form a rose-like shape. Make sure not to coil the dough too tightly, you want ruffles and height in this pie. Place one spiral of dough into the center of the greased and lined 9” pan.

  3. Continue the process and make a total of 9 more spirals of phyllo dough, or 10 in total. If you’re using smaller sheets of phyllo dough, you may need to add a few additional pieces of dough to fill the pan. Arrange the coiled sheets of phyllo into the pan, and make sure not to flatten any of the dough, adjust to fill out the pan as needed. If you have any leftover melted butter, drizzle it over the top of the phyllo spirals. 

  4. Cut the apple on either side of the core, then thinly slice the apple into half-moon shapes, about ⅛” thick or less. Gently tuck in slices of apple between ruffles of phyllo. Make sure not to press down on the phyllo, and instead gently nestle in the apple. Use as many apples as desired, about 1 small apple, or half of a medium apple. 

  5. Bake for 20 minutes and the phyllo dough will start to just slightly brown on top.

  6. While it is in the oven, whisk together the eggs, sugars, vanilla, salt, and spices in a medium bowl.

  7. Once the pastry has baked for 20 minutes, pour the egg mixture evenly over the phyllo. Bake for another 25-30 minutes, or until the egg mixture has firmed up, removing it from the oven briefly after 10 minutes to sprinkle the nuts evenly on top and in the nooks and crannies, then returning it to the oven.

  8. While the pastry is in the oven with the egg mixture, prepare the honey syrup by stirring together the honey, orange blossom water, and water in a small pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3-4 minutes, or until a syrup has formed and the mixture has slightly thickened. 

  9. While the pastry is still hot, drizzle the honey syrup over it. Be sure to leave some golden brown ruffles untouched by honey, so that they remain extra crispy. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. This dessert is best served warm or at room temperature, and can be stored in the fridge, covered, for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before serving, or reheat for 10-15 minutes, covered, at 350°F. Best served with vanilla ice cream.

Tahini Molasses Riff & Individual Servings

When I made these desserts, I was in the boondocks of Maine. I had no brown sugar and no where nearby to get brown sugar, but molasses was in the pantry. I added about two teaspoons of molasses to the 2 tablespoons of white sugar. Not enough to make it taste of molasses, just enough to bring in some depth.

I flew from Oregon with mountain rose apples from Kiyokawa Family Orchards and of course everyone ooohed and aaahed over the pink flesh.

I brought tahini with me, and mixed in a couple of tablespoons which rounded out the cardamom and apple.

Usually I follow Sonya’s lead and drizzle honey syrup - with my addition of orange blossom water- on top. But this time I passed and didn’t miss it.

A box of phyllo includes more sheets than necessary for one pie, so I made individual servings in muffin tins and used up the remaining sheets. I’ll definitely be making more like this! I found a full sheet of phyllo to be pretty snug. It wasn’t easy to slide the apple slices in between the folds. Next time, I’ll use half a sheet for each.