Baklava is one of my all time favorite desserts and I have been wanting to try making it for a while now. I kept putting it off because the recipe sounded a little bit intimidating. The baklava has actually made it to my meal plan a few times but I either ran out of time or forgot to thaw the phyllo dough. I finally got over procrastinating and got to it and made baklava. It wasn’t nearly as hard as I though it would be.
I decided to go the easy way and used store bought phyllo dough. The dough needs to be thawed overnight in the fridge so you need to think about it the day before. It helps to have everything ready before you start. I mixed the nut filling and melted the butter ahead of time. I pulled out the phyllo dough and covered it with a slightly damp towel to keep it moist. Assembly was as simple as brushing butter onto the dough and placing it into the pan. Over all it was surprisingly easy.
I used this recipe for baklava as I liked the sound of using the lemon and orange peal in the syrup. The syrup smelled really amazing while simmering with the cinnamon and citrus peals. I used some good local honey that I got at the farmers market.
The baklava turned out really well! It was nice and crispy on top and slightly damp with the honey syrup on the bottom. The baklava had a cinnamon and citrus aroma though I could not really taste any of the citrus. There was a really nice honey flavour to the baklava where most store bought baklava that I have had doesn’t have any honey flavour. With baklava being so easy to make and being so good I will be making this a lot in the future. I am already thinking that I could try it with different nuts and sweeteners.
Baklava
Light and flaky phyllo pastry layered with walnuts and cinnamon covered in a honey based syrup.
ingredients
- 4 cups walnuts, chopped
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 cup butter, melted
- 1 pound phyllo pastry, thawed
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 2 inch slice lemon peel
- 2 inch slice orange peel
- 3/4 cup honey
directions
- Mix the walnuts, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
- Brush the bottom of a 9X13 inch pan with butter.
- Brush butter onto the top of a sheet of the phyllo dough and place the sheet into the pan. Repeat until there are 8 sheets in the pan.
- Sprinkle 1/3 of the walnut mixture onto the phyllo in the pan.
- Brush butter onto the top of a sheet of the phyllo dough and place the sheet into the pan. Repeat until there are 2 sheets on top of the nut mixture.
- Sprinkle 1/3 of the walnut mixture onto the phyllo in the pan.
- Brush butter onto the top of a sheet of the phyllo dough and place the sheet into the pan. Repeat until there are 2 sheets on top of the nut mixture.
- Sprinkle 1/3 of the walnut mixture onto the phyllo in the pan.
- Brush butter onto the top of a sheet of the phyllo dough and place the sheet into the pan. Repeat until there are 8 sheets on top of the nut mixture.
- Slice the baklava with a sharp knife.
- Bake in a preheated 350F/180C oven until golden brown on top, about 25-35 minutes.
- Bring the water, sugar, cinnamon, lemon and orange to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the honey and simmer for 2 minutes.
- Remove the cinnamon, and peals from the syrup.
- Pour the syrup over the baklava when it comes out of the oven.
- Let the baklava cool for a few hours.
Galaktoboureko (Greek Custard Pie)
Strawberry Goat Cheese Banitsa
Asparagus and Walnut Phyllo Pie (aka Asparagus Baklava) with Avgolemono Sauce
Kanafeh (Sweet Cheese Pastry)
Spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pie)
Mushroom and Feta Phyllo Pie
Kolokithopita (Greek Zucchini Pie)
Agginaropita (Greek Artichoke Pie)
Mushroom and Goat Cheese Strudel with Balsamic Syrup
Tomato Tart
Apple and Cheddar Quiche
Galaktoboureko (Greek Custard Pie)
Chicken and Date Pastilla
Asparagus and Walnut Phyllo Pie (aka Asparagus Baklava) with Avgolemono Sauce
Roasted Pumpkin Quiche with Caramelized Onions, Gorgonzola and Sage
Strawberry Goat Cheese Banitsa
Lamb Exohiko (Lamb, Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Phyllo Parcels)
Fiddlehead and Gruyere Tart
Well, if there was ever a recipe to inspire me to play around with phyllo pastry again, this would be it. Fantastic.
OH! I love baklava, too, but have alsways been afraid-now I’m going to try to make it-thanks and looks delish!
I love baklava, too. But it seems so daunting. I lose my patience with phyllo dough so easily, hehe. Looks great!
Hmm, I’ve only had baklava once, and it didn’t seem to taste good to me (then again, it was made by someone who’s baking skills were… well, ok). But, after seeing this, I think I may make my own Baklava and see how I like it :]
Lovely photo!
OH MY GOSH. We love Baklava. I have to make this for my husband. Yours looks so yummy!
havent tried this before…this looks heavenly ^_^
i LOVE baklava. it’s at the very top of my list of 100 things to make. this recipe looks fantastic.
yum. i’ve never had the version with lemon and orange peel, sounds great.
I made baklava once last year and was surprised at how easy it was and how well it turned out. Yours looks great!
Looks absolutely delicious!
Love it too! A childhood girlfriend of mine was Greek and her mom always had some on hand for me. 🙂 Wow….I miss that! I have made it a couple of times and love the smells, too. But, nothing like Ms. A’s baklava.
Gorgeous first baklava, Kevin. I made my first baklava several years ago but it did NOT look nearly as pretty 🙂
One of my faves too! Yours looks terrific.
This looks so good, you could sell it!!(i’d buy it!!)
Kev – listen babe, sistah cannot keep up with all of your cooking madness! Your baklava is gorgeous. And the curry dishes – those little dough pockets of yumminess? Looked FANTASTIC. You stud!
Wow, that’s ambitious! And let me tell you, trying to make your own phyllo would have just tipped it over the edge from ambitious to insane.
It looks gorgeous and delectable.
wow…this looks wonderful…your presentation is amazing!
I am hungry now…but will head off to bed…
I bet I will be dreaming about your cooking….lol
Cheers,
Diana
Kevin, you are a total rock star in the kitchen! That baklava looks awesome!
Kevin, this looks superb — good job! I’ve been thinking about making baklava again sometime keep forgetting to buy the phyllo 🙂
baklava is famous food in Turkey ( Türkiye) When we celebrate to bayram, we make baklava, look here, http://www.halilibrahimbaklava.com/ you can see there lots of baklava,
you are very sucessful, superrr
Oh geez, I have been looking for a new recipe to try becuase I haven’t been happy with mine lately. This looks better than perfect. Thanks.
Kevin, this one of your best posts since you’ve blogged.
There are many “takes” on baklava and this looks as good as any I saw in Istanbul (Turkey). Bravo!
I love baklava too, but I never tried
to make. You inspired me.
I also love baklava and this looks great! Its a rare treat, and I also keep meaning to do it, but it just never seems to happen. This might be just the kick in the pants I need to go and just do it already…because now I can’t stop thinking about it! 😛
Now that looks really tasty!
Your baklava looks really professional. I did not know it could be so simple to make.
Hehehe! I love baklava! I am in Dubai right now visiting my parents and a few houses from where they live there’s an excellent Lebanese bakery. They make the best Baklava ever. I have never actually made it myself but yours looks awesome and encourages me to try it when I get back to Germany! Nice one!
Great job Kevin – I like the addition of the citrus. Using a good quality honey makes a difference too. Your baklava turned out beautiful. Very cool.
Phyllo scares me! Whenever I have tried to use it it just rips and doesn’t do what I want it to do at all, so I guess I’ll continue to just buy my baklava. Yours looks wonderful though.
I think I’ve only had store bought baklava. This version looks great!
It looks great. I love baklava too.
That looks totally yummilicious! I love baklava too and it does seem pretty intimidating to make.
that looks amazing!
I have never made baklava myself, but you have just inspired me!
With you and Desert Candy both posting about baklava, I’m getting the message – I must make baklava!
Yours looks absolutely scrumptious.
The other day I took phyllo out of the freezer at the grocery store, then put it back in, took it out, and put it back in.. I didn’t end up making it cause I was having too many mind battles of how difficult I’ve heard it to be. I should try to take a stab at it, even if it comes out unsuccessful. Your’s looks soooooo good!
Looks wonderful, it’s also a recipe I’ve been putting off for a long time!
It’s gorgeous. I’ve never made baklava before, but I’ve eaten it. It’s really good, but sometimes it’s borderline too rich for me.
Baklava is absolutely at the top of my favorite desserts, I’ve never made it before as it sounds so complicated but you’ve inspired me to try it! Yours looks just delicious!
Omg. I was just going to make that last night!
I’ll admit I’ve felt intimidated by the thought of making baklava. But this looks soooo scrumptious and so do-able, I’m going to give it a whirl. Thanks!!
Kevin, I never made Baklava, yours looks lovely!!! Gloria
Wow! That looks beautiful! Are you sure you’re not a professional pastry chef?
It looks beautiful and delicious, Kevin. I have to be brave and try baklava too!
Wow! I am impressed. I love baklava, but I don’t think I’ll ever get up the nerve to try it.
Hi Kevin, I have only made baklava one time and I wasn’t super happy with the recipe I had. I will be bookmarking your recipe to try in the near future! Thanks! HoneyB
P.S. Great Photos!
I love baklava but never tried to make it because I thought it too labour intensive. Bravo for creating a positively gorgeous baklava!
Beautifully presented, as always. I would always buy filo or puff pastry. Too much of a pain to make, heh.
Kevin I only ever made baklava once, years ago. I found it difficult to make, yours looks great 🙂
I tried and bought once from a Greek restaurant. It was too sweet for me. I might try to make by myself so I can reduce the sweetnessxpfpxx
Hi! Love this! I was in Athens in may, and had a wonderful chocolate baklava at a pastry shop called Serbetia, do you happen to have any choco baklava recipes?
Thank you!!
Laura: I have not had a chocolate baklava… It sounds really good though. I would imagine that you could just replace some of the nuts in one or more layers with some chocolate chips or chopped chocolate.
after reading your post and recipe, i thought i’d give it a go!
here are the results!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stillreflections/3017636820/
thanks from london.
Great job, Kevin. Don’t forget to very lightly sprinkle a bit of water on the phyllo after you’ve cut it and before you’ve put it in the oven. The water will help it from drying out.
I made this baklava last night along with your awesome recipe for spanakopita. Once the phyllo is out might as well do it all right? Couldn't believe how good this was. My family thinks I can make anything at this point. Anyway, love your blog, looking forward to hitting up a lot more of your recipes here. Thanks!
ITS DELÄ°CÄ°OUS… OTHER TURKISH FOODS Ä°S THERE…
http://mutfaktansesler.blogspot.com/
How do i love thee.. let me count the ways. Baklava is divine.. i am terrified of phylo dough and you have made this sound so simple. Maybe i will give it a try 🙂
Hello Kevin, i just wanna give some information about baklava(the real,Turkish baklava)
First of all you don't need to use honey…We use only ÅžERBET(sherbet) its icluding only water,sugar and a little "lemon juice" against the crystallization of sugar.(this is the syrup)
In Turkish cuisine we never add orange or cinnamon to baklava.
just the phyllo dough,good quality of butter,walnuts /or unsalted,unroasted pistachio,and the ingredients of the syrup.
That's all..so simple 🙂
Try like this one time 😀
Ow i forgot to write that you have a gift about cooking 🙂 Have fun!
Loves from Belgium from a Turkish girl…
Ow i forgot if you want to eat baklava in an restaurant please try both Turkish baklava and Greek baklava…You will see the difference of the taste :))
Chaplin cafe(BURCU): I made sure to try some Turkish baklava when I visited Turkey very briefly a few years ago and it was good! I will definitely have to try making some! Thanks for the info on it!
I am so glad that you already it Turkish baklava…I hope it was a good one(not everywhere the same quality)
PS:sorry i forgot to check your answer!
NO walnuts! Pistachios are the best!!!
Anonymous: Pistachios are great as well!