Easy Baklava Recipe With Walnuts And Pistachios
My baklava is flaky, buttery, and soaked in citrus-infused syrup. Crispy layers of filo and spiced walnuts make this a rich, melt-in-your-mouth dessert.
Ingredients
Syrup
- 250 g water
- 315 g granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1 orange zested
Baklava
- 250 g unsalted butter melted and cooled (see notes)
- 500 g chopped walnuts see notes
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Pastry
- 375 g filo pastry about 30 sheets (see notes)
- 100 g crushed pistachios
Instructions
Syrup
- To make the syrup, add the water, sugar, salt, lemon and orange zest into a medium sized mixing bowl. Stir until sugar dissolves then allow to gently simmer for 3-4 minutes. Take off the heat and allow to cool completely at room temperature.
Baklava
- Preheat your oven to 180C / 320F (fan on), 200C / 395F (fan off). For this recipe you’ll need a baking dish rough the size of the filo pastry sheets you’ll be using, but it must be 2 inches in height. I used a 22 x 38cm / 9 x 15-inch baking tin.
- Chop walnuts - Add nuts and cinnamon into a food processor and blitz until it reaches small chunks. You can also do this by hand using a large knife.
- How to layer it - Brush your baking dish with melted butter, then layer five sheets of filo, brushing each with butter. Sprinkle one-fifth of the walnut mixture evenly on top. Repeat this process four more times, always layering five sheets of filo, buttering each, and adding walnuts. Finish with a final five layers of filo, brushing each with butter.
- To bake - Trim any excess pastry from two sides, then cut the baklava into four long strips before slicing diagonally to create diamond shapes. Brush the top with butter and bake for 60 minutes, or until golden and crisp on top.
- Finish with syrup - Once baked pour the syrup on top of the hot baklava and allow it to soak in and cool completely to room temperature. Once cooled, sprinkle each piece with a little crushed pistachios. Slice and serve.
Video
Notes
Storage
Baklava can be stored in an airtight container for up to two weeks in the fridge.
Butter
Melt the butter gently making sure it doesn’t burn or caramelize. Once it’s melted, Allow it cool down without solidifying. If it does set, just gently melt again.
Nuts
You can use either walnuts or pistachios in this recipe. Pistachios can be expensive in some countries. Personally, I think walnuts are softer and soak in the syrup nicely.
Filo Pastry
Filo pastry is a really thin pastry, which when baked goes crispy and golden. It also dries out quickly so make sure you work fast and cover it with a towel when you’re not using it.
Nutrition
Calories:375kcal | Carbohydrates:30g | Protein:5g | Fat:28g | Saturated Fat:8g | Polyunsaturated Fat:12g | Monounsaturated Fat:5g | Trans Fat:0.4g | Cholesterol:27mg | Sodium:210mg | Potassium:147mg | Fiber:2g | Sugar:17g | Vitamin A:334IU | Vitamin C:7mg | Calcium:35mg | Iron:1mg
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