Honey-Walnut Baklava Truffle
- Yield 4 servings
- Prep 20 mins
- Cook 10 mins
At the Dahlia Lounge, this Baklava Truffle is served with a scoop of their own honey ice cream and garnished with a drizzle of honey, ground walnuts, and a small piece of honeycomb. You can serve each “truffle” with a scoop of store bought quality vanilla ice cream instead.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, very soft
- 2 ounces California walnuts, ground very fine in a food processor
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 pinch salt
- -- Canola or peanut oil for frying
- 1 package kataifi*, thawed if frozen (you will not use the entire package)
- 4 -- metal mesh tea balls, 3-inch diameter
- -- Honey
- -- Honey or vanilla ice cream
Instructions
-
Mix together the butter, walnuts, honey and salt in a small bowl until well-combined.
-
Use a very small scoop (scoop size #100 or about 1/3 ounce) to portion 8 small scoops of walnut butter. (This is easiest to do if you chill the nut butter enough to firm it slightly first.) Place the scoops of walnut butter on a large plate, cover with plastic wrap, and chill several hours, or overnight.
-
When you are ready to make the truffles, fill a heavy sauce pan with 4 inches of oil and heat to 365F, checking the temperature on a deep-fry thermometer.
-
Meanwhile, open a tea ball and place some loosely packed kataifi in each side.
-
Form a well in the phyllo in each side and place 1 scoop of the walnut butter in each well.
-
Fold the tea ball closed and use a small knife to push any excess phyllo that sticks out back into the tea ball. Repeat until all the tea balls are filled.
-
Lower the tea balls into the hot oil and fry until lightly golden brown, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the tea balls from the oil, drain on paper towels, and allow to cool for about a minute.
-
Protecting your hands and being careful not to burn yourself, remove the truffles from the tea balls.
-
Drizzle some honey on 4 dessert plates. Put a truffle on each plate and place a scoop of ice cream next to each truffle. Serve immediately.
*Kataifi is shredded phyllo. It’s available frozen in some supermarkets and in specialty stores.
Recipe Courtesy of Pastry Chef Garrett Melkonian of the Dahlia Lounge in Seattle, WA
