Easy Baklava Recipe

⏱ Prep: 30 min 🔥Bake: 1 hr 15 min at 325°F 🕐Rest: 4 hours minimum 👤Makes: 24–30 pieces

Baklava recipe looks intimidating. It is not. It is repetitive, layer, brush, layer, brush and the repetition is almost meditative once you settle into it. What comes out of the oven is a pan of shatteringly crisp, deeply golden pastry soaked in cold honey syrup, the contrast between hot pastry and cold syrup producing the specific sizzle and crunch that makes baklava the greatest dessert in any food culture that has ever touched it.

Gather these first

For the baklava

• 1 package (16 oz / 450g) frozen phyllo dough, thawed overnight in the refrigerator, then brought to room temperature for 1 hour before using. Never use thick phyllo sheets, paper-thin sheets only. Keep covered with a damp kitchen towel at all times while assembling.
• 1 cup (2 sticks / 225g) unsalted butter, melte, do not skimp. Butter is what makes each phyllo layer separate and shatter. Use good quality unsalted butter. Clarified butter or ghee produces an even crispier result.

For the nut filling

• 1½ cups (180g) raw pistachios, unsalted
• 1½ cups (180g) walnuts
• ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
• 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, just a pinch, it adds depth without being identifiable
• Pinch of salt

For the honey syrup

• 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
• ½ cup (170g) honey, use a good quality honey, it is the primary flavor of the syrup. The better the honey the better the baklava.
• ¾ cup (180ml) water
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional but adds warmth
• 1 tablespoon rose water, optional, used in Lebanese and Middle Eastern versions. Adds a specific floral fragrance that transforms the syrup.

How to make Baklava Recipe

1. Make the syrup first. Combine sugar, honey, water and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Bring to a full boil over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Reduce heat and simmer for 4–5 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla extract and rose water if using. Cool completely, the syrup must be cold when it hits the hot baklava. Make this at least 1 hour ahead or refrigerate.Cold syrup on hot baklava, this temperature contrast is the rule. It creates the crunch. Hot syrup on hot baklava produces soggy baklava. Do not skip the cooling step.
2. Make the nut filling. Place pistachios and walnuts in a food processor. Pulse 8–10 times until coarsely chopped, you want visible texture, not a powder. Transfer to a bowl. Add sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Mix well. Set aside.
3. Prepare the pan. Preheat oven to 325°F (165°C). Butter a 9×13-inch baking pan generously on the bottom and sides. Trim phyllo sheets to fit the pan if necessary, use kitchen shears. Keep all sheets covered with plastic wrap then a damp towel.
4. Layer the bottom phyllo. Place one sheet of phyllo in the pan. Brush all over with melted butter. Add another sheet, brush with butter. Repeat until you have 8–10 buttered phyllo layers at the bottom. Work quickly, exposed phyllo dries out in minutes.You do not need to brush perfectly, a quick swipe covering most of the surface is enough. Perfection makes this slower than it needs to be.
5. Add the first nut layer. Spread one third of the nut mixture evenly over the phyllo. Scatter it to the edges.
6. Middle layers. Layer 5–6 more phyllo sheets over the nuts, brushing each with butter. Add another third of the nut mixture. Repeat, 5–6 more buttered phyllo sheets, then the final third of nuts.
7. Top layers. Add the final 8–10 sheets of phyllo, brushing every layer with butter. Spoon any remaining butter over the very top sheet and brush to cover completely. Press gently with your palms from the center outward to remove air pockets.
8. Cut before baking. This is critical — baklava must be cut before it goes into the oven, not after. Use a very sharp knife to cut into diamonds or squares. Cut straight down, do not saw. First make 4 cuts lengthwise, then diagonal cuts across to create diamond shapes. Cut all the way through to the bottom.If you cut after baking the pastry shatters and the layers pull apart. Before baking, the phyllo is still pliable enough to cut cleanly.
9. Bake. Place on the center rack and bake at 325°F (165°C) for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes until the top is deep golden brown and the pastry is completely crisp all the way through. If the top browns too quickly, tent loosely with foil.
10. Add the syrup. Remove baklava from the oven. Immediately and slowly pour the cold syrup evenly over the entire hot baklava. You will hear it sizzle. This sound is correct. This sound is everything. Pour slowly, let each area absorb before adding more. Leave uncovered to cool completely for at least 4 hours before serving.Do not cover the pan or move it while it cools. Do not rush this step. The 4 hours are when the syrup absorbs through every layer and the baklava becomes what it is supposed to be.

What I learned making this

Baklava is a better-next-day dessert than any other in this collection. The day it is made the syrup is still distributing through the layers, some pieces are soaked, some are drier. By the next morning every layer has absorbed evenly, the phyllo has a specific softness at the layers closest to the nuts while remaining crispy at the top and bottom, and the nut filling has settled into the syrup in a way that makes it taste as if the whole thing was made by someone who has been making baklava for fifty years. Make it the day before you want to serve it. Cover loosely with foil overnight at room temperature. Do not refrigerate, it softens the phyllo entirely.

The variation worth trying

Claire’s note

Turkish pistachio baklava uses only finely ground pistachios in the filling, no walnuts and a simple syrup with no honey and no cinnamon, just sugar, water and a drop of lemon juice. The result is lighter, less spiced, with the pure clean green flavor of pistachio at the center. Greek baklava uses walnuts, cinnamon and honey syrup, warmer, spicier, more complex. Lebanese baklava adds rose water or orange blossom water to the syrup, floral, fragrant, extraordinary. This recipe makes the Greek-influenced version. The Turkish version: replace the honey syrup with 1 cup sugar plus ¾ cup water plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice, replace the filling with 3 cups finely ground unsalted pistachios plus 2 tablespoons sugar only, no cinnamon, no cloves.

What to eat alongside

Baklava is served at the end of a meal with strong black tea or Turkish coffee, the bitterness of both cuts directly through the sweetness of the honey syrup in a way that nothing else does. A small glass of cold water alongside is the traditional Middle Eastern accompaniment. Alongside muhammara and the full Lebanese mezze spread it is the centerpiece everything else works toward.

Add baklava to your weekly meal planner as a make-ahead weekend project, it takes 2 hours total and feeds a full table for two days. And for more recipes, follow us on Pinterest.

Baklava

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• Author: Claire Bennett
• Total Time: 105 minutes
• Yield: 24–30 pieces 1x
• Diet: Vegetarian

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Description

An easy yet impressive dessert featuring layers of crispy phyllo pastry, nut filling, and sweet honey syrup.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 package (16 oz / 450g) frozen phyllo dough, thawed
• 1 cup (2 sticks / 225g) unsalted butter, melted
• 1½ cups (180g) raw pistachios, unsalted
• 1½ cups (180g) walnuts
• ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
• 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar (for syrup)
• ½ cup (170g) honey
• ¾ cup (180ml) water
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
• 1 tablespoon rose water (optional)

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Instructions

1. Make the syrup first. Combine sugar, honey, water, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and rose water. Cool completely.
2. Make the nut filling by processing pistachios and walnuts until coarsely chopped. Mix in sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and salt.
3. Prepare the pan. Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C) and butter a 9×13-inch baking pan.
4. Layer the bottom phyllo by placing one sheet in the pan and brushing with melted butter. Repeat with 8–10 sheets.
5. Add the first layer of nuts, spreading one third of the nut mixture over the phyllo.
6. Layer 5–6 more phyllo sheets over the nuts, brushing each with butter, then add another third of the nut mixture. Repeat.
7. Add the final 8–10 sheets of phyllo, brushing each with butter, then spoon remaining butter over the top.
8. Cut into diamonds or squares before baking.
9. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes until golden brown and crisp.
10. Add the cold syrup to the hot baklava immediately after removing from the oven.
11. Let cool completely for at least 4 hours before serving.

Notes

Baklava is better the next day after the syrup has absorbed evenly. Cover loosely with foil overnight at room temperature.

• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 75 minutes
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 piece
• Calories: 300
• Sugar: 18g
• Sodium: 50mg
• Fat: 20g
• Saturated Fat: 10g
• Unsaturated Fat: 8g
• Trans Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 31g
• Fiber: 2g
• Protein: 4g
• Cholesterol: 30mg