My relationship with baklava has been a lengthy one. When Dad worked at Ford, he would come home with all kinds of gifts from people and companies he worked with. Gifts from all over the world sometimes. Everything from pens and keychains to cat figurines for my collection to trays of baklava.
My favorites now are the sandal keychain from some tropical place I can’t remember and some of the cat figurines. I can still see and hold them and get a chill remembering the excitement surrounding their arrival.
But at the time, my favorite was most definitely, without a single doubt, the baklava. Sure, maybe I had sophisticated taste for a six or seven year old, but it’s hard to deny the awesomeness of nutty sugar syrup soaked pastry that somehow remains a little crunchy. It’s basically a food miracle.
Then there was less awesome baklava from Costco and the grocery, but it was still baklava so I couldn’t complain.
The cravings have never stopped, but my tastes have changed, and even a trip for the best baklava in the country left me feeling underwhelmed.
It was time to make my own. It was a hit and vanished practically without a trace.
When my aunt and uncle came to visit, I knew I had to make it again. I couldn’t complain about having a little around the house and hanging on tighter to a few pieces for myself, but I really made it for my uncle. See, baklava is his all time favorite food. I like giving people gifts from the store, but to make something for someone, that takes things to another level.
He loved it, like really loved it, and I can totally see why. It really is the best baklava I have ever had and I highly doubt any other recipe will top it. It’s somehow light despite the butter, oh the butter, and it’s not too sweet, but you don’t want more sugar. It’s nutty and crunchy and then melts in your mouth, performing its little pastry magic trick.
Look, I’m not going to tell you this is easy to make. It’s time consuming. My least favorite part is the chopping of the nuts since I didn’t want to beat up my Vitamix, but if you have a food processor or blender, you’ll save time and hand cramps. The rest of the process is quite fun, actually, the layering and buttering and sprinkling.
Plus when you see and smell and taste the end result, the only question will be when to make it again.
The BEST Homemade Baklava
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: Approximately 36 pieces 1x
Ingredients
Syrup
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 cup honey
3 cinnamon sticks
2 pieces of orange rind
2 pieces of lemon rind
Baklava
2 cups walnuts
2 cups shelled unsalted pistachios
1 tablespoon cinnamon
16 ounce package phyllo dough, thawed
3 sticks unsalted butter
Instructions
Make the syrup. In a medium saucepan, stir together water, sugar, honey, cinnamon sticks, and citrus rind. For the rind, carefully use a vegetable peeler to make a long, wide, thin strip, trying to get only the rind and not the white pith.
Bring syrup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and simmer for 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature before removing the cinnamon sticks and citrus rind.
Make the baklava. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Chop the nuts. You may do so in a food processor, with a chef’s knife, or my aunt said a Greek lady taught her to do it by placing the nuts in a bag and whacking them with a mallet or skillet. Your call! Stir the cinnamon into the chopped nut mixture.
Melt the butter in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl. Brush some butter into the bottom and up the sides of a 9 by 13 inch pan. Lay one sheet of phyllo into the bottom of the pan, brush with butter, coating it pretty thoroughly. Top with another sheet of phyllo and more butter. Repeat this pattern until you have 8 sheets of phyllo.
Sprinkle with about ¼ of the nut mixture, then begin layering phyllo and butter until there are six layered sheets. Another ¼ of the nuts goes on top, followed by six layers of phyllo and butter. Nuts, phyllo, the final ¼ of the nuts, and then layer 8 or 9 layers of butter and phyllo. I always have some phyllo left.
Brush the remaining butter (if there is any) over the top, concentrating around the sides and corners. Nowhere should be dry.
Using a sharp knife, cut the baklava into a pattern. I cut big and small logs and triangles. This is really where you can get creative and cut it however you would like. Bake about 50 minutes until golden brown, crispy, and flaky.
Pour the cooled syrup evenly over the hot baklava. Allow to cool completely, at least 4 hours, though overnight is better. Baklava may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks, but let’s be honest, it won’t last that long. If you want to freeze it, wrap pieces in plastic and foil and place in a zipper bag. Thaw at room temperature about an hour.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Brown Eyed Baker
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
Keywords: dessert, nuts, baklava
I wish I could rate this recipe with 10 stars!! THE BEST BAKLAVA EVERRRRRR!!!! I was lucky enough to have a piece but my husband was the really lucky one since this is absolutely his favorite food! He actually got a little choked up when he saw it as he understands the time and energy that goes into making baklava. That his niece would take this to a new level was the topping on the cake (well baklava really)! It looked like a work of art, the way it was cut but most important was the taste and it was suburb! We had an incredible time being shown Detroit at its finest! The food, the view, the fireworks, the dancing, the conversation made for a wonderful time. We can’t thank them enough but a special thanks to Laura for a perfect gift for Scott!
★★★★★
We had the best time too! Love you guys so much <3 And all this talk of cake and baklava has me wanting to get into the kitchen for a mashup.
Wow. This looks incredible. I’ve never made baklava — so much work! This is a labor of love — thanks.
It is so worth the work, John, almost surprisingly so. I hope you’ll give it a try – maybe you and Mrs. Kitchen Riffs can make it together!