Middle EastDessertDessertVegetarian

Baklava

Name: Baklava
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 12 servings
Cuisine: Middle East
Ingredients: 400 g filo pastry, one pack, thawed overnight in the fridge; 250 g unsalted butter, melted; 400 g pistachios and walnuts, finely chopped, any ratio; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 400 g sugar, for the syrup; 300 ml water, for the syrup; 2 tbsp lemon juice; 2 tbsp honey, optional, for a Greek accent

Forty buttered filo layers, a pistachio-walnut heart, and cold lemon syrup over hot pastry: the crisp-not-soggy method, diamond-cut.

prep: 40 min
cook: 50 min
total: 1 h 30 min
serves: 12
level: medium

Baklava rewards the patient brusher. Every filo sheet gets butter, every layer counts, and the diamonds are cut before baking, because cutting after shatters the crown.

The crispness everyone chases is a temperature rule: cooled syrup over hot pastry (or the reverse, never both hot). Matched temperatures make the sodden baklava of sad buffets.

Baklava is one of the world's classic dishes from 67 countries.

method

Make the syrup first: boil the sugar, water and lemon juice for 10 minutes, stir in the honey if using, and let it cool completely.
Mix the nuts with the cinnamon. Butter a 23 x 33 cm pan.
Layer half the filo sheets in the pan, brushing every single sheet with butter. Keep the waiting filo under a barely damp towel.
Spread the nuts evenly, then layer and butter the remaining sheets. Brush the top generously.
Cut all the way through into diamonds with a sharp knife, now, before baking.
Bake at 170°C (340°F) for 45 to 50 minutes until evenly golden.
Pour the cold syrup slowly over the hot baklava along the cut lines. Rest at least 4 hours, ideally overnight, uncovered.

chef's tips

Cold syrup on hot pastry is the crispness rule. Write it on the tin.
Cut before baking; afterwards the layers shatter instead of slicing.
Rest it uncovered. Covered baklava steams itself soft overnight.