New to making baklava from scratch? This easy step-by-step tutorial and expert tips will help you make the BEST honey baklava every single time! Be sure to also watch the video below. When you grow up eating baklava at every gathering, you become a bit of a baklava snob–at least I did. To me, nothing rivals homemade baklava. The texture of crisp, flaky phyllo pastry. The crunchy filling. And the warm honey syrup. It is all I want in a dessert. Making honey baklava at home, be it in this traditional recipe or in my Baklava Sundae, may seem like a big undertaking. Trust me, it’s easier than you think. This fool-proof recipe will have you making Greek baklava like a pro! And it’s the perfect make-ahead dessert, so you never have to rush the process!
What is Baklava?
Baklava is a sweet dessert made of layers of flaky phyllo pastry filled with crushed nuts and sweetened with honey syrup.
What is traditional baklava made of?
Traditional Turkish baklava, also known as fistikli baklava or pistachio baklava is typically made of phyllo dough, finely crushed pistachios, butter, and a simple syrup made of sugar, water, and lemon juice. You’ll find many variations of this beautiful dessert from Middle Eastern baklava, where the simple syrup is scented with rosewater, to Greek baklava with walnuts and a generous sprinkle of cinnamon within. This recipe leans toward Greek baklava, although with my own very nutty Egyptian twist (it’s all in the nut mixture).
Can you use other nuts?
Pistachios or walnuts are the most commonly used nuts. But you don’t have to use just one or the other. I love to use a combination of nuts and plenty of them! My favorite thing about this version of Greek baklava is that it uses a mixture of three different nuts–pistachios, walnuts, and hazelnuts– along with cinnamon, pinch of ground cloves, and a sprinkle of sugar. The nuts are chopped, but to get the perfect bite, don’t grind them too finely. This baklava recipe is a bit on the nutty side and no one is ever mad about it! But you can totally make this recipe your own and change the nut mixture to your liking. Let’s take a look at what all goes in baklava recipe from scratch…
Baklava Ingredients
When making this baklava recipe, it helps to think of the ingredients list in three different components:
How to Make Baklava: Step-by-Step
Important Tips
There are a couple of things that intimidate people when it comes to making baklava. One for sure is how to work with paper-thin phyllo dough. I shared a couple tips on that with my spanakopita recipe, but let’s go over those again in addition to a couple more baklava-specific tips that will ensure you make the BEST baklava ever:
How to keep baklava from getting soggy?
Remember my one tip about hot baklava and cool syrup? This is also the key to keep your honey baklava from getting soggy. The hot flaky phyllo will properly absorb the cooled syrup while remaining crispy. If the syrup was also hot, or if the syrup and baklava were both cool, the syrup will kind of collect in a bit of a pool and will not be absorbed properly. This will cause the beautiful pastry you worked so hard on to get soggy.
How to store baklava?
The good news is baklava is one of the few desserts you can make a few days ahead. It will keep well for up to 2 weeks stored in an air-tight glass container at room temperature or in the fridge. Personally, I move any leftover baklava to the fridge after a few days, but keeping it at room temperature does preserve it’s crispy texture better. You’ll know when your baklava is nearing the end of its life when it starts to dry out. You can freeze already baked baklava for up to 4 months, if you like. It’s good to store it in small batches so you don’t have to thaw out the entire pan when you need a treat. Thaw in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for a few hours.
Watch the video to make it:
Craving more phyllo recipes? Try apple strudel, Spanakopita, or this savory meat pie! For all recipes, visit us here. Check out our Mediterranean diet recipes. JOIN MY FREE E-MAIL LIST HERE. SHOP OUR ONLINE STORE FOR QUALITY OLIVE OILS, ALL-NATURAL SPICES AND MORE. This post first appeared on The Mediterranean Dish in 2014 and has been recently updated with new media and information for readers’ benefit. Enjoy! 4.8 from 88 reviews Be sure to read through for tips and watch the video to make it.
6 oz shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped 6 oz walnuts, coarsely chopped 6 oz hazelnuts, coarsely chopped 1/4 cup sugar 1 to 2 tbsp ground cinnamon (start with less if you’re not sure) large pinch of ground cloves 16-oz package phyllo dough, thawed 1 1/2 to 2 sticks of unsalted butter (up to 16 tbsp), melted
For the Honey Syrup
3/4 cup sugar 1 cup cold water 1 cup honey 1 tbsp orange extract (optional) 5 whole cloves 1 lemon, juice of
Make the Honey Syrup: Place the sugar and water in a saucepan and heat stove-top, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Add the honey, orange extract if using, and whole cloves; stir to mix. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and let simmer for about 25 minutes. Remove syrup from heat and let cool to lukewarm. Add lemon juice. Remove the whole cloves. Make the Nut Mixture: In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade, add the pistachios, walnut, and hazelnuts. Pulse a few times to chop. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and add sugar, cinnamon, and ground cloves. Mix well to combine. Prepare the Phyllo Pastry: Unroll the thawed phyllo pastry and place the sheets in between two clean kitchen towels. This will help keep the phyllo from breaking while you work. Assemble the Baklava: Prepare a 9”x 13”x 2” baking pan. Brush the interior of the baking pan with some of the melted butter. To assemble the baklava, take one sheet of phyllo and place it in the pan (for this size pan, I typically fold my phyllo sheet in half, and it fits perfectly. You can also do a bit of trimming using a pair of kitchen shears). Brush the top of the phyllo sheet with the melted butter. Repeat this process a few more times until you have used up about 1/3 of the phyllo pastry, each layer being brushed with the melted butter. Now, distribute about ½ of the nut mixture evenly over the top layer of phyllo. Continue assembling the baklava, one sheet of phyllo pastry at a time using another 1/3 of the phyllo. Again, brush each layer with a bit of the melted butter. Distribute the remaining ½ of the nut mixture evenly over the top layer of phyllo. Finish the remaining 1/3 of the phyllo pastry following the same process, laying one folded sheet at a time and brushing each layer with melted butter. Brush the very top sheet of phyllo with butter. Cut the Baklava Pastry Into Pieces: Using a sharp knife, cut the pastry into 24 diamond shaped pieces (you can get up to 36 smaller pieces). (Review the tutorial above to see how I cut baklava). Bake: Place the baking dish on the middle rack of your heated oven. Bake anywhere from 35 to 45 minutes or until the top of the baklava turns golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. (IMPORTANT…Because ovens vary, be sure to check your baklava half-way through baking). Pour Syrup Over Hot Baklava: As soon as you remove the baklava from the oven, pour the cooled syrup all over the hot baklava. Cool Completely: Allow baklava to sit for a few hours before serving or for at least 1 hour. Cut through the earlier marked pieces. Serve with a garnish of chopped pistachios, if you like.
