Traditional Baklava Recipe
Traditional Baklava Recipe is rich and not overly sweet dessert that is a crowd pleaser. Buttery phyllo layers stuffed with nut mixture makes the best baklava ever.
Servings: 32 pieces
Calories: 227.6kcal
Ingredients
- 1 (16oz) package phyllo dough.
- ¾ cup light tasting olive oil
- ¼ cup ghee. Note1.
For the filling
- 1 lb (450g) mixed nuts. Note2.
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
- ¼ cup honey/simple syrup or corn syrup.
For the simple syrup
- 1 cup (225g) granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice. (juice of half a lime).
- ¾ cup (170ml) water.
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Note3.
- ¼ cup honey.
Instructions
- Thaw the phyllo package according to package direction.
Make the syrup:
- Combine all the ingredients in a sauce pan over medium high heat, lightly stirring. When it boils, reduce heat to low and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it cool completely.
- Pulse or chop the nuts and mix with cinnamon, add the honey or syrup and mix well.
Layer the Baklava:
- Melt ghee in a sauce pan, be sure not to burn it. Take it out of the heat and add the olive oil.
- Brush a suitable oven dish or baking sheet lightly with the fat. Note4
- Start layering the phyllo sheet brushing each couple of layers.
- Do so until you are done with 10 the phyllo sheets.
- Spread about ¼ of the nuts mixture then layer another 5 sheets brushing in between.
- Continue this pattern until you are left with the last 10 sheets of the phyllo for the final layer. Note5
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Cut the phyllo sheets in diamonds, squares or any shape you like.
- Bake for 50 minutes to an hour or until it is puffy and golden brown.
- Pour the cooled syrup over the baklava, you’ll hear it sizzle and smell the goodness.
- Let it cool completely then serve.
Video
Notes
Note1: I've started using olive oil along with ghee to lighten up my phyllo a bit. But you can use all butter/ghee or olive oil.
Note2: You can use mixed nuts of your choice or use a certain type of nuts that you like. I’ve used an equal amounts of walnuts and pistachios.
Note3: Feel free to flavor the syrup however you like to. Examples are: a stick of cinnamon, orange peel, rose water, cardamom, saffron, orange blossom water...etc.
Note4: It was hard for me to find a suitable sized oven dish to hold my phyllo sheets without trimming them so I've used a large enough baking sheet. If you cannot find one that is large enough for your phyllo, then just cut the phyllo dough to fit in the pan you have.
Note5: Some math is needed for these steps guys so I will give you an example here: for instance I had 35 phyllo sheets in my package so here how I’ve done it:
Bottom layer 10 sheets then ¼ of the filling
then 5 sheets topped with ¼ of the filling
then another 5 topped with ¼ of the filling
then another 5 topped with ¼ of the filling
Finish this off with a final layer of 10 phyllo sheets. Another time I had 40 sheets so I started with 10 and ended with 10 then divided the other 20 sheets into 4 (5 sheets) layers. Please check the nutrition disclaimer policy.
Bottom layer 10 sheets then ¼ of the filling
then 5 sheets topped with ¼ of the filling
then another 5 topped with ¼ of the filling
then another 5 topped with ¼ of the filling
Finish this off with a final layer of 10 phyllo sheets. Another time I had 40 sheets so I started with 10 and ended with 10 then divided the other 20 sheets into 4 (5 sheets) layers. Please check the nutrition disclaimer policy.
Nutrition
Calories: 227.6kcal | Carbohydrates: 20.9g | Protein: 3.5g | Fat: 15.6g | Saturated Fat: 2.9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6.5g | Cholesterol: 3.8mg | Sodium: 68.9mg | Potassium: 118mg | Fiber: 1.5g | Sugar: 11.4g | Vitamin A: 1.3IU | Vitamin C: 1.1mg | Calcium: 1.7mg | Iron: 5.4mg