Taj al malek Sweet

Taj al malek, meaning king’s crown because of its shape,  are a kind of baklave and little sweets from Aleppo,  made with shredded phyllo dough, sugar syrup, and roasted pistachios. Kataifi dough is first shaped into little nests, dried, brushed with clarified butter, then baked until golden brown.  

Each pastry is then topped with pistachios and drenched in a sugar syrup flavored with lemon juice, rose water, and orange blossom water. The syrup must be thick enough to hold the nuts together, but not too thick, because it must remain chewy once cooled.  

Pistachios can be replaced with other nuts such as almonds, cashews, and even peanuts – regardless of the filling, taj al malek are sugary treats worthy of kings.  

 Ingredients  

1 kg of chopped pistachio  

1 kg of phyllo dough  

1 cup of butter, melted  

4 cup of sugar  

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon  

1/3 teaspoon of ground cloves  

For the syrup:  

1 cup of water  

1 cup of sugar  

1/2 cup of honey  

2 tablespoons of lemon juice  

1 cinnamon stick  

Finely ground pistachios for garnish  

1- Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Chop walnuts by hand into small pieces. Transfer to a bowl and mix with sugar, cinnamon, cloves and orange blossom water.  

2- Cut phyllo to a small size , and put a sheet of phyllo dough into the cup cake pan. Brush the phyllo sheet with melted butter using a pastry brush. Repeat 7 more times until it is 8 sheets thick, each sheet being “painted” with the butter.  

3- Spoon on a thin layer of the nut mixture.   

4- Bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes or until lightly golden brown, and the edges appear slightly crisp.  

5 – The syrup: Combine the cinnamon stick, sugar, lemon juice, honey, and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium low heat and let simmer for 7 minutes until it  slightly thickens. Remove the cinnamon stick and allow it to cool.  

6- Pour the cooled syrup over the hot baklava and let cool for at least 4 hours. Garnish with some finely crushed pistachios.

Lara Khouli