This easy and classic Baklava recipe is loaded with layers of cinnamon, nuts, and butter and saturated in a simple honey syrup! Everyone will love this sweet and sticky dessert!
This flaky dessert makes a lovely addition to holiday gatherings and can be added to a treat tin with Snowball Cookies and Gingerbread Pecans for giving!
I am SOOOOO excited about today’s post! Because Baklava, people, BAK-LA-VA!!! Right, glad we’re all on the same page!
I can still remember the first time I had Baklava.
It was probably close to 20 years ago and I was maybe 10 or so. My mum and I were picking up dinner at this new pizza place one Friday night.
I remember looking at the counter and seeing this cake stand stacked with a strange treat that looked like a really sticky pastry, you know, the best kind.
When I asked my mom what it was, she said it was baklava, and then she bought me a piece!
This was a HUGE deal, guys! Growing up, there wasn’t a lot of extra money, so when my mom bought me this $3 treat I was ecstatic!
I was reading a book that took me on a tour of the streets of Istanbul where it mentions Baklava.
That’s when it occurred to me that I hadn’t had it in years. Years, people! And I love baklava, so I had to fix that issue, pronto! So into the kitchen, I went.
It’s funny how a book that takes place on the other side of the world can stir up such a dear memory from my childhood in central Maine. And at the same time give me the urge to jump on the next plane to Turkey.
That’s what I love about reading, you can go anywhere in the world without leaving your house.
What Is It?
My recipe for Baklava is a rich, sweet dessert pastry made of layers of phyllo dough filled with chopped nuts and sweetened and held together with syrup.
Where Did It Originate?
No one can say for sure, but it is believed to have been derived from a second century dated recipe in the Ottoman Empire. The Greeks and Turks still argue over who made it first.
Ingredients:
- Phyllo Dough
- Honey
- Pecans
- Cinnamon
- Butter
- Water
- Sugar
- Vanilla
How To Make Baklava At Home:
For a dessert the looks super complicated with all those flaky layers, it’s actually really easy to make right at home!
Step 1: You’ll begin with a 9×13-inch baking dish and melted butter. Butter pan using a pastry brush, then add two layers of phyllo dough and brush them all over with butter.
Repeat three more times for a total of eight layers of dough.
Step 2: Next, combine the chopped nuts and cinnamon and sprinkle a few tablespoons of the nut mixture over the top of the buttered dough.
Repeat your dough layers and nut filling layer several more times.
Step 3: Once you have completed the layers, use a very large and sharp knife to cut the baklava. Cut it lengthwise and then angled across to create diamond shapes before you bake the baklava. Bake until the top layers are golden brown.
Step 4: While baking, prepare your honey syrup. Add the water and sugar to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Then add the honey and vanilla.
Pour the syrup over the hot baklava in the baking pan and allow it to cool completely.
Once cooled, the baklava is ready to enjoy!
More Recipes Made With Honey
Classic Baklava
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Traditional Baklava
Ingredients
- 1 (16 ounce) package Phyllo Dough thawed
- 1 lb finely chopped pecans or walnuts
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Add the nuts and cinnamon to a medium bowl and mix together, set aside.
- Unroll both tubes of phyllo dough on a clean surface, cover loosely with saran wrap and a damp dishcloth so the dough doesn’t try out.
- Melt the butter in the microwave on 30-second intervals. Use a pastry brush to brush butter onto the bottom and sides of a 9×13-inch baking pan. Line the dough up with the length of the pan and feel free to cut off any excess at the end, usually, there’s an extra inch or so that can be removed.
- Add two sheets of phyllo dough to the buttered pan, and use the pastry brush to brush melted butter over the entire surface area of the dough, repeat until you have 8 layered sheets total.
- Evenly sprinkle the top of the buttered 8th sheet with 2 to 3 tablespoons of the nut mixture.
- Lay another two sheets on top and brush with butter and then add nuts again. Repeat the dough, butter, nuts layers until you have just 8 sheets left, adding those two at a time and only brushing with butter.
- Using a really sharp knife, cut 4 rows down the length of the pan and then cut diagonally all the way down and across the pan for a traditional baklava prep. You may also cut into squares.
- Bake for 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp on top.
- With 30 minutes left to bake, begin making the syrup by adding the water and sugar to a small pot and bringing to a boil over medium-high heat until sugar is dissolved.
- Add the vanilla and honey and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove the baklava from the oven and immediately pour the sauce over the entire pan, let set and cool.
Video
Notes
Baklava does freeze well.
Chopped Pistachios can also be used.
Jelena says
Dear Rebecca
Hello.
You are a wonderful lady with a lot of great recipes but I do need to react to this post. Please don’t hold it against me. Im just trying to save the tradition.
I come from the country where Baklava is on the table every Christmas or Easter or any other bigger occasion, and Greeks are the next door neighbors.
This is not the traditional Baklava that you posted.
Traditional Baklava has no cinnamon, peacons( they are added instead of walnuts, probably because of les heart burn), vanilla or honey.
That is probably what people changed to fit their taste. It sounds great but it is not the traditional way of making it.
I have a very old recipe that traditionaly got to me, and im making it for years. I am a professional cook my self.
I love American traditional cooking but I will try to preserve the beauty of the Mediterranean or any other traditional cooking. That is the beauty of enjoying the history trough food.
Thank you for doing a wonderful job, many admire your work, and please, once again, I hope you wont mind me reacting to your post. Im just one of those people who found treasure on the most unusual places and very much enjoj its shine.
Stay well,
God bless!
Jelena
Ashley Shields says
Just made this recipe, now waitin for it to cool & set!!
Gehane says
I made 2 trays, one with pistachio, the other with walnuts. I followed the recipe omitting the honey (which I ran out of ), the taste was out of this world, my only problem is that the phyllo over the nuts was loose. Do you think that it’s because of the honey? Or maybe I needed to add butter to the nuts so that the baklava sticks together?
Rebecca Hubbell says
Hi there, yes, this is because you omitted the honey which is a vital part to the recipe as it’s what makes everything hold together.
Laura says
Is it really only 1 teaspoon cinnamon? I use a tablespoon and it is wonderful? I have also switched up the type of nut, pistachios or pecans work well. I have made this recipe many times, all of them successful!. Thank you!
Rebecca Hubbell says
Hi Laura, you can definitely use more cinnamon if you’d like. And yes, baklava can be made with many kinds of nuts. I also love swapping the honey for 100% pure maple syrup – YUM!
Theresa @DearCreatives says
Used to make baklava when I worked in a bakery after HS. I need to make some soon. Thanks for sharing at the Inspiration Spotlight Party. Pinned & shared.
Taylor S. says
I love when a book just totally pulls you in! This recipe looks delicious too, thanks!