Baklava Assortment

Brand: Eridanous

Cost: £1.50

Found at: Lidl

            How have I been alive on this earth for almost three decades and never once had chocolate covered baklava? How did I stumble through my life before this moment, completely oblivious to how good life could be?

            For those unfamiliar with my favorite desert, baklava is either a Greek or Turkish pastry with a history that extends back to ancient Rome. To the Romans, it was known (rather unfortunately) as placenta cake – a name that was then applied to the organ thought to somehow resemble it. Thankfully, this dessert underwent a rebranding under the Ottomans with the much more appealing name “baklava” – though the exact etymology of the word is surprisingly contentious. Today, it’s generally made from thin sheets of filo dough, layered with nuts and cinnamon and doused with sugar syrup or honey syrup. It’s very sweet and sticky and flakey and is usually served in deceptively small portions that always seem to justify just one more. 

            Personally, I can eat more Baklava then a medium sized Baltic state. I love the stuff and have been known to eat a whole pan before lapsing into a semi-diabetic coma. Cover it in chocolate, however, and I am completely insatiable. I eventually had to put this baklava assortment in the freezer, hoping that it might slow my consumption by introducing an element of thaw into the process. But then I just ate them frozen. Almost as soon as this assortment came into my life, it was gone – devoured with the vigor of a Roman senator at a Saturnalia feast. I loved every moment of it, but looking at the empty box, I realized that I would not be getting another. There may come a day when I have the self-control to bring another baklava assortment into my home. But for now, my love is too great, the temptation is just too strong, and the flaky, chocolate pastries just too darn good.