Baklava Cream Fondant

Growing up, I had my fair share of Greek food. Both my parents spent a good chunk of their young adult lives in a section of Toronto that was predominantly Greek and Jewish (a somewhat eclectic mix, but there you have it). As such, they both have a love for those cuisines and they managed to pass along many of their favourites to me.

One of those favourites is the quintessential Greek phyllo dessert baklava. Flaky, buttery, sticky sweet layers of paper-thin pastry and finely chopped nuts (my favourites were hazelnuts) drenched in a honey syrup - for someone like me with that sweet-salt tooth, it was manna. It was a special occasion dessert, though, which was probably a good thing given all that sugar and fat! I never lost my taste for it though, and I became enamoured with anything with a "baklava" flavour inspiration. From ice cream / frozen yogurt to cookies to cheesecake, if they built it I would come!

I wanted to try my hand at the non-baklava baklava game too, and a creamy (uncooked) fondant candy just seemed like the perfect way to go about it. It made a perfect filling for my chocolate Christmas turtles as well as an ideal cookie filling (think exotic Oreos). I can't wait to see what small balls of it stirred into vanilla ice cream would be like! Between the honey, amber agave nectar, rosewater, cinnamon and walnuts, it's a HEAVENLY concoction that really does evoke memories of the Mediterranean pastry!

What's your favourite dessert? Have you ever tried "standing it on it's head"?

Baklava Cream Fondant
Makes 1 1/3 lbs, 60 servings
25g corn syrup
40g honey
25g Nature's Agave raw agave nectar (or other raw agave nectar, or more honey)
58g unsalted butter
1 tbsp vanilla
1/2 tsp rosewater
1/2 tsp honey extract (optional)
3/4 tsp sea salt
375g powdered sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
45g California walnuts, chopped finely

1. Beat together the corn syrup, honey, agave, butter, vanilla, rosewater, honey extract and salt on until smooth.
2. Add the powdered sugar and spices all at once, and beat until well-combined.
3. Beat in the walnuts.
4. Cover surface directly with plastic wrap and chill 1 hour before using, or freeze in an airtight container up to 8 months.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 40.6
Total Fat: 1.3 g
Cholesterol: 2.1 mg
Sodium: 29.8 mg
Total Carbs: 7.5 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.1 g
Protein: 0.1 g