Traditional Baklava
A rich and flaky Middle Eastern dessert made with layers of buttered phyllo pastry, crunchy nuts, warm spices, and a fragrant honey syrup.
This recipe is Middle Eastern style, dessert, scaled for 24 servings, with 25 min prep and 45 min cook.
Prep: 25 min · Cook: 45 min · Total: 70 min · Serves: 24
Quick cooking notes
- Core ingredients include phyllo pastry sheets, unsalted butter, walnuts, pistachios or almonds.
- Follow all 9 steps in order for the intended texture and doneness.
- Ingredient quantities listed below are for 24 servings.
Ingredients
- 500 g phyllo pastry sheets (thawed)
- 250 g unsalted butter (melted)
- 2 cups walnuts (finely chopped)
- 1 cup pistachios or almonds (optional, chopped)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 0.25 teaspoon ground cloves (optional)
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup white sugar
- 0.5 cup honey
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
- Mix chopped nuts with cinnamon and cloves; set aside.
- Layer 8 sheets of phyllo in the dish, brushing each layer with melted butter.
- Add a layer of nut mixture, then 2 buttered phyllo sheets. Repeat layers until nuts are used.
- Top with remaining phyllo layers and butter. Cut into diamonds before baking.
- Bake for 40–45 minutes until golden and crisp.
- Simmer sugar, water, honey, and lemon juice for 8–10 minutes.
- Pour warm syrup over hot baklava immediately after baking.
- Cool completely before serving.
Nutrition (per serving)
- Calories: 320
- Protein: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 32 g
- Sugar: 18 g
- Sodium: 120 mg
Nutrition values are estimates based on stored ingredient totals and serving size.