Fancy Baklavas

It was one of my 'day-out' with mama in Central London when I got these little treats from Cranberry in Charing Cross Station. Cranberry is one of my favourite snack shop because they promote healthy living. Normally, I would get varieties of dried tropical fruits and nuts such as dried mangoes, pineapples, banana chips, cashew and pistachio nuts. (If you want to find out more about Cranberry then click this.) Anyway, as I was looking through the different goods, I thought why not get something different? Then my eyes lit up when I saw these Baklavas and my taste-buds were tingling as I looked at them!

Here is a shot I took of Cranberry shop in Charing Cross Station. I think the group of people in the photo are exchange students. 

The last one caught my eyes the most .

It's a 'help yourself' service.

Moving on to my Baklavas, the first time I had them was when I went to Westfield with my girls and we were thinking of going shisha. Luckily, there was one restaurant that did it. It’s called Mandaloun. We were thinking that it's gonna be expensive and all so we thought of going to Camden instead. I don't know if it was some sort of our lucky day but there was this kind Filipino man who was working there and he kindly offered us a discount. How about that huh? We only paid £15 between the three of us (Danica didn’t want to try it) and on top of the discount, we were given two plates of FREE baklavas and FREE tea! Yes you heard me right - FREE! So there I was looking at these little treats on the plate, trying to figure out what they were and I couldn't! I took a bite and my gosh it was sensational, I quickly asked the waiter what they were and that's when I discovered Baklavas. 

So there you go, my first experience of Baklavas. Was it pure luck? I don't think so, I think it was destiny. I couldn’t think of a better place to try it. It was absolutely delicious. You can taste the sweetness coming from the filling of crushed pistachio nuts and the pastry was perfect and crunchy. I love the Greeks for inventing these little treats! I’m hoping to try them again soon (& hopefully I will learn how to make them too). 

Moving swiftly on, my wish came true and I got to try Baklavas again, but this time, I bought them from Cranberry! I got four different types of Baklavas and each one contains different nuts and other ingredients. There are more than four Baklavas but I bought the ones that appealed to me the most, so scroll down and check them out! 

Baklava- Bird Nest Pistachios:

This is the one that caught my eyes the most! The name of this Baklava says it all! BIRD NEST appearance from the shredded pastry did the trick. The sweetness from the sugar syrup with honey is mixed with the pistachios, balancing the nutty flavour from the pistachios. 

• Baklava Bird Nest Pistachios
• £1.99 for every 100 grams
• Ingredients:
• Kataifi (shredded pastry)
• Pistachio  nuts
• Sugar Syrup with honey & glucose
• Clarified butter  

Baklava- Boukage:

This one also caught my eyes because of its star-shaped appearance in the middle. The name of this Baklava confused me! I had no idea what it meant. Anyway, this Baklava includes pistachio nuts too, I have a fetish with pistachio nuts hence why I also bought this one. However, unlike the first one, Boukage is made with filo pastry and it's not as sweet as the first one. There is a little bit of sweetness coming from the pastry and this again balances the nutty flavour from the pistachio nuts. 

• Baklava: Boukage
• £1.99 for every 100 grams
• Ingredients:
• Filo pastry
• Pistachio nuts
• Sugar 
• Water
• Vegetable gee

Baklava- Kulwuskur:

Kulwuskur, another Baklava that baffled me! I had no idea what it meant. This Baklava is quite similar to Boukage as it is made with filo pastry. The only difference is that it contains cashew nuts instead of pistachio nuts. It's also a bit sweeter than a Boukage because it contains butter gee (whereas Boukage only contains vegetable gee). I would probably say that this is my least favourite because it had an exotic taste to it. I'm not saying I'm not keen on exotic flavours but it was too extrinsic for my liking. But hey ho, do try it because you might have a different palate from mine! 

• Baklava: Kulwuskur
• £1.99 for every 100 grams
• Ingredients:
• Filo pastry
• Cashew nuts
• Sugar 
• Water
• Vegetable gee
• Butter gee

Baklava- Almond:

Another Baklava with a straightforward name. ALMOND. I'm guessing it contains almond nuts ey? Yes it does. Filo pastry is used to make this Baklava, but it's flakier than the other two (Boukage & Kulwuskur). The sweetness is quite similar to a Boukage but the taste of almond nuts is not as nutty as cashew nuts. This is my second favourite because it has a distinctive flavour. I think the hint of rose water made this Baklava extra special.   

• Baklava: Almond 
• £1.99 for every 100 grams
• Ingredients:
• Filo pastry
• Almond nuts
• Sugar syrup with honey
• Clarified butter
• Rosewater 

I would recommend Baklavas for those who have a sweet tooth, and also to those who are a nut-lover (like me) coz golly gosh they were nutty! They were such a lovely treat for myself and so much better than giving myself a pat on the back. I can definitely say that I'm coming back there any time soon, and hopefully in the next few months, I would be able to learn how to make these sweet treats! If you want to experience a Baklava savoir-faire then I would recommend you to stop by to your nearest Cranberry shop anytime soon! As for me, I would continue to delve deeper with the other different types of Baklavas.