Tikvenik - Bulgarian Pumpkin Pastry

     Welcome to the October 2020 Backing Bloggers event!! This month we are highlighting all things Pumpkin or Butternut squash. I love the theme for this month as I am pretending it's fall and cooling off. I mean, it's usually only in the high 80's here so it is technically cooling off, right? But regardless of what the weather is doing I have been enjoying incorporating pumpkin and fall spices in to my cooking. And this delicious pastry is exactly why I wanted to start cooking from all over, to see how other countries incorporate and utilize favorite ingredients in new ways.  

     This Bulgarian pastry was a delightfully treat to enjoy as brunch, dessert, or just an afternoon snack. the pastry is flaky with a wonderfully cinnamony interior that is the prefect highlight of this seasons flavors. 

Baking Bloggers October 2020

Pumpkin or Butternut Squash

• Black Bean and Butternut Squash Enchilada Casserole from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Butternut Squash Cheesecake from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Crystallized Ginger Pumpkin Gingerbread Cookies from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Maple-Kissed Autumn Squash Tart from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Mock Pumpkin Cheesecake from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Pumpkin Cornbread from Making Miracles
• Pumpkin Spice Biscotti from Tara's Multicultural Table
• Quick Pumpkin Bread from Sneha's Recipe
• Roasted Butternut Bacon Feta Risotto from Food Lust People Love
• Sourdough Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Sweet and Savory Roasted Butternut Squash from Palatable Pastime
• Tikvenik - Bulgarian Pumpkin Pastry from Pandemonium Noshery

Tikvenik Pastry Recipe

1 box phyllo phyllo dough ( Only 1 roll needed)

1/2 medium butternut squash

1/2 c. brown sugar

3 Tbsp. walnuts, chopped

3 Tbsp. oats

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

Pinch salt

12 Tbsp. butter, melted

1 -2 Tbsp. coarse sugar (optional)

Powdered sugar or honey

Preheat the oven to 375. 

Line one large 14-inch cake pan or two 9-inch cake pans with tin foil and brush with butter. 

Toast the the walnuts and oats in a dry pan just until starting to toast. Remove from the pan and chop. Set aside. 

Cut the butternut squash in half. Scoop the seeds of of the center and cut the peel off the squash. Grate the squash on the large side of a box grater.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in the pan. Add the grated squash to the pan and cook, stirring, until about halfway cooked. Add the cinnamon and cook, stil stirring, until the squash is fully cooked. Remove from the heat and ad the pinch of salt, brown sugar, and the toasted nut mixture. Stir to combine and set aside. 

Remove the packaging from the phyllo and cover with a lightly damp cloth. Take a sheet of phyllo and brush lightly with butter and top with a second sheet of phyllo, butter, and then a third sheet of phyllo. 

On one side of the sheet of phyllo, one of the longer sides, spread 3 tablespoons of the butternut squash filling. Roll the phyllo as tightly as you can so you have a long roll of phyllo encasing the filling. Take the long roll of filling and twist it in to a circle and place in the center of prepared pan. Continue stacking three sheets of dough and filling with the butternut squash. Roll and then wrap the new rolls around the circle in the middle until the pan is full, tucking them in the sides as needed. 

Brush the top with butter and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake at 375 for 40 - 50 minutes or until the pastry is golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or drizzle with honey. 

Cut in to wedges and serve.