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Heavenly moist, nutty, tender, aromatic – simply delicious is the Sochi pie, which is also called Sochi or light baklava. Here I’ll show you how to make this popular Azerbaijani sweet yourself. It’s pretty easy and with a few common ingredients. You can find a detailed recipe for Sochi pie or Azerbaijani Sochi baklava with exact quantities and step-by-step instructions here at the very bottom.
What is Sochi baklava or pie?
Sochi pie or baklava is an Azerbaijani sweet pastry that – just like any other baklava – consists of thin layers of dough, a nut filling and honey. However, unlike baklava from the other countries, it tastes less sweet, which is why it is also called light baklava.
Sochi pie is made with a shortbread, meringue, walnuts and only lightly drizzled with honey. Why it is called Sochi, even Azerbaijanis don’t know anymore. Perhaps the baklava was named so in honor of the city of Sochi or because it used to be often sold on the beaches of Sochi. Possibly, the name of the pastry has nothing to do with the city at all, but comes from the word “sochny”, which translated from Russian, which used to be the official language in Azerbaijan, means “moist”.
Sochi baklava differs somewhat from Baku baklava, which is also very popular in Azerbaijan, in the way it is prepared. First of all, the filling for Baku baklava is not the meringue with nuts, but nuts with sugar and spices.
Refining the filling for Azerbaijani Sochi baklava
Often the filling for Sochi pie contains raisins as well as walnuts. So if you like raisins, you can also stir them into the beaten egg whites. Or refine the walnut filling with candied lemon peel and candied orange peel. You can also add various spices. How about some cinnamon, cardamom or vanilla?
Stays fresh and tasty for a long time
Sochi baklava stays fresh for quite a long time and just as delicious as the day it was made. Store it in an airtight container, for example in a lunch box, in a place that is not too warm. However, as delicious as the Sochi pie tastes, it is eaten very quickly. I recommend you to make a double portion of it right away.
The Sochi pie is
- moist,
- nutty,
- soft,
- fluffy,
- not too sweet,
- incredibly tasty,
- very aromatic,
- long shelf life,
- ideal for an afternoon coffee, for snacking in between or for a party,
- easy to make with ordinary ingredients,
- popular pastry of Azerbaijani cuisine.
Azerbaijani Sochi baklava recipe
The recipe for Sochi pie is quite simple. You just need to knead the shortbread, whip the meringue with walnuts and drizzle the baklava with honey after baking. Here you can form a rough idea of how the preparation goes, and what you need for it. You can find the exact quantities and step-by-step instructions on how to make the Sochi pie yourself in the box recipe below.
For the dough you need
- cold sour cream,
- cold butter,
- cold egg yolks,
- flour,
- baking powder
- and vanilla sugar.
For the filling you need
- mainly walnut kernels – roasted and finely chopped,
- egg whites
- and sugar.
You will also need
- egg yolk and some milk whisked together to coat the baklava,
- walnut kernels for decorating
- and honey for soaking.
How to make Sochi baklava: here’s how (Check out the detailed recipe below).
- For the dough, first mix all the dry ingredients, then chop cold butter in it, then add sour cream and egg yolks and knead it into a soft dough. Divide the dough into three pieces, cover and refrigerate for an hour.
- For the filling, beat the egg whites with sugar until stiff and then fold in the walnuts.
- Now roll out one piece of dough thinly and place it in a rectangular baking pan, spread half of the nut meringue filling on it, place a second rolled out piece of dough, spread the remaining filling and place the last rolled out piece of dough on top. Brush the cake with the mixture of egg yolk and milk, carefully cut it into pieces in the baking pan and lightly press 1/4 of a walnut kernel on each piece. Now bake it at 180 °C for about 40 minutes, then immediately brush it with honey and bake it for another 5 minutes. Done!
How to make Sochi pie: with these tips and tricks you will succeed
- Butter, sour cream and egg yolks for the dough must be cold.
- When separating egg whites from yolks, make sure none of the yolks end up in the whites. Also, make sure both the mixing bowl and the whisk used to whip the meringue are clean and dry.
- In any case, do not knead the dough too long, but only briefly until it reaches a homogeneous consistency. Otherwise, after baking, it might taste dry instead of soft and fluffy.
- Fold the walnuts into the beaten egg whites very carefully so that the meringue mixture remains airy.
- To bake the Sochi baklava, I used a 24 cm x 24 cm square springform pan. Alternatively, you can use another rectangular baking pan of suitable size for it.
- To check if the Sochi pie is done baking, do a chopstick test. To do this, briefly insert a wooden skewer into the cake in a few places and see if it comes out almost clean. If the wooden skewer remains smeared in raw dough or beaten egg whites, you still need to bake the cake. If only a few moist crumbs or walnut pieces remain on the wooden skewer, the cake is done.
- Store the Sochi baklava wrapped in an airtight container in a place that is not too warm. It will stay fresh for quite a long time.
Video for the Sochi pie recipe
By the way, on my Youtube channel you can find a short video for the Sochi baklava. There you can watch exactly how to make the sweet Azerbaijani pastry yourself. If you don’t want to miss any more videos from me, feel free to subscribe to my channel.
Did you make the Sochi pie according to this recipe? I’m looking forward to your result, your star rating and your comment here below on how you succeeded and tasted the Azerbaijani baklava.
Got an appetite for more goodies from Azerbaijani cuisine? Try:
Sochi pie / Azerbaijani Sochi baklava
Equipment
- square, 24 cm x 24 cm baking pan
Ingredients
for the dough
- 150 g butter (cold)
- 120 g sour cream (cold)
- 2 egg yolks (cold)
- 300 g flour
- 4 g baking powder
- 8 g vanilla sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- flour for the work surface
for the filling
- 250 g walnut kernels (roasted and finely chopped)
- 200 g sugar
- 3 egg whites
- 1 pinch of salt
for the coating
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tbsp milk
for the decorating
- walnut kernels quartered
for the cover
- approx. 70 g honey
Instructions
Preparation of the dough
- Mix flour, baking powder, vanilla sugar and salt in a mixing bowl.
- Add cold butter and quickly chop it finely. You can also do it in a mixer or roll butter in flour and grate it.
- Add cold egg yolks and sour cream and knead it briskly and briefly into a soft dough.
- Divide the dough into three equal pieces and chill them, covered, for 1 hour.
Preparation of the filling
- Beat egg whites with salt until foamy, add sugar in batches and beat until stiff.
- Add roasted and finely chopped walnuts to the egg white mixture.
Preparation of the pie
- Line the baking pan with baking paper.
- Dust the work surface with flour, first take out a piece of dough from the refrigerator and roll it out thinly into a rectangle about 24 cm x 24 cm (or as large as your baking pan). Place the dough patty in the baking pan and spread half of the walnut meringue filling on top. Now roll out a second piece of dough thinly into a rectangle, place it on top of the filling in the baking pan, and spread the second half of the filling on top. Roll out the third piece of dough again thinly into a rectangle and place it in the same way on top of the filling in the baking pan.
- Whisk egg yolk with milk and spread it on the cake in the baking pan.
- Carefully cut the cake in the baking pan with a sharp knife into diamonds or rectangles and lightly press 1/4 of a walnut kernel into the center of each diamond (or rectangle).
- Bake the Sochi baklava in a preheated oven at 180 °C top and bottom heat for about 40 minutes. After that, take it out of the oven, spread it immediately with honey, warm it up first if it is not liquid enough, and bake the baklava for another 5 minutes.
- Let the Sochi pie cool down a bit in the baking pan, take it out of the pan and let it cool down completely.
Notes
- Do not knead the dough too long in any case, knead it briefly until it reaches a homogeneous consistency. Otherwise, after baking, it might taste dry instead of soft and fluffy.
- To check if the Sochi pie is baked, do a chopstick test. To do this, briefly insert a wooden skewer into the cake in a few places and see if it comes out almost clean. If the wooden skewer remains smeared in raw dough or beaten egg whites, you still need to bake the cake. If only a few moist crumbs or walnut pieces remain on the wooden skewer, the cake is done.
- Note the detailed tips and tricks for making the Sochi baklava at the top of the post.