I often crave baklava and whenever I see it on a menu when I go out to eat, I always order it. Depending on the type of restaurant and cuisine, I noticed that it usually has slightly different flavors and various types of nuts. I later learned that this indicative of it’s origin; whether it’s Greek, Turkish, or Middle Eastern. Regardless of which cuisine it reflects, the basic recipe is the same and each variation is delicious, flaky, buttery, nutty, and sweet.
Making baklava is very easy, however it does require some time and patience but the end result is sooo worth it. This is a great dessert if you want to ooh and ahh a crowd, and wherever you bring it to share you will always get asked, “You made this yourself?”
Besides being delicious, it can be made well in advance and even a standard tray is easily enough to feed a small crowd. The best part is that it does not require refregiration and can remain fresh for up to two weeks, just be sure to cover it with a tea towel.
Baklava
FlyGirlEats recipe for irresistable Baklava that will impress your guests (if you don't eat it all first)
Baklava Ingredients
- 1 box (16 oz.) Phyllo Dough (thawed)
- 16 oz Walnuts (coarselay grind)
- 2 tbsp Bread Crumbs (plain)
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Ground Cloves
- 2 1/2 sticks Butter (melted)
Syrup Ingredients
- 1 c Sugar
- 3/4 c Water
- 1/2 c Honey
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
- 3 Cloves (whole)
Notes:
There are several variations of phyllo dough sizes. Just be sure to trim the stack of your sheets to fit your pan size. Also make sure to work quickly to keep the phyllo from drying out. I have had some phyllo sheet tear a few times – this is nothing to worry about. Just brush it with butter and keep layering it; once its assembled and baked you’ll never notice it. You can also experiment with any combination of nuts such as walnuts, almonds, pistachios, or even hazelnuts. My recipe with walnuts is my personal favorite, and quite simple and inexpensive.
Thaw the phyllo according to the manufacturer’s instructions. This is very important so that you will have a good pliable phyllo to work with. Here I used the Athens brand which was 9″x13″ with 40 sheets in the box.
Tip: Double the syrup recipe if you want to drizzle extra over the baklava right before serving a piece on a plate.
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees
- Start by making the syrup so it has time to cool (It’s important to have cool syrup to pour on the fresh hot baklava from the oven – this keeps the baklava crispy!) Combine all the ingredients for the syrup in a pot and simmer for about 5 minutes and set aside to cool
- Pulse nuts (10) times in food processor or use knife to chop up the nuts into corse consistancy.
- In a bowl mix together corsely ground nuts, ground cinnamon, ground cloves,sugar, bread crumbs, set aside
- Remove phyllo sheets and cut to your pan size, then cover with a damp cloth to keep it moist
- To assemble the baklava, place 10 layers of phyllo sheets, one-by-one on the bottom of a 9″x13″ baking pan, brushing each layer with butter. Set one sheet down, brush with butter, then set the next sheet on top, and repeat until you have 10 layers total
- Spread 3/4 cup of the nut mixture on top of the 10 phyllo layers
- Place 5 more layers of phyllo sheets, brushing each layer with butter before adding the next sheet. Once you have five buttered layers, spread another 3/4 cup of the nut mixture on top
- Repeat this 3 more times, then top the last layer of nut mixture using 10 sheets phyllo (each layered with butter) for the final top layer It should be in this order: 10–5–5–5–5–10
- With a sharp knife gently slice the sheet of assembled baklava into individual pieces I like triangles, but you can make squares, diamonds, or whatever shape you want
- Bake the baklava for 1 hr and 15 minutes, until top is golden and crispy
- Now remove the cinnamon stick and cloves from the syrup
- Pour the cooled syrup onto the hot baklava removed straight from the oven. You should hear a sizzle when you pour the syrup over it.
- Let the Baklava cool for at least 6 hours, prefereably overnight uncovered at room temperature to keep it crispy
