Baklava Recipe (Persian Style) (2024)

Published: Mar 30, 2023 Updated: Nov 14, 2023 Author: Roxana Begum· This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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This Baklava is heavenly! It features flaky layers of pastry with toasted nuts, soaked in juicy syrup and infused with fragrant aromas of rose water, cardamom, and ghee. It's not overly sweet and has a unique flavor. I'll be sharing two ways to make it.

Table of Contents

What is Baklava?

Baklava, a flaky pastry filled with chopped nuts and soakedin syrup, is a featured dessert in the countries that were part of the former Ottoman empire, spanning the Middle East to Mediterranean, Balkans, and Caucasus.

This recipe is of Persian style and differs from the more common versions. The unique combination of rose water, freshly ground cardamom, and ghee creates a truly magical aroma, similar to our ever-popular Persian love cake.

After years of experimenting, I've developed a method for achieving perfectly crisp pastry layers held together with juicy syrup for an extended period.

Baklava may seem daunting, but it only takes me half an hour to make. Along with useful tips for handling phyllo dough with ease, I offer a quicker option that you can prepare in just 10 minutes.

Recipe Ingredients

Here are some notes about the ingredients.

Phyllo dough shopping: Choose apopular brandphyllo dough that is meant for making baklava. Purchase from a store with a high turnover rate, such as Walmart or a well-maintained Middle Eastern store in the US.
Phyllo dough options: It is available in two sizes: 17 x 12 inch (24-28 sheets) or 9 x 14 inch (40 sheets in two rolls). You can trim the 17 x 12 sheets to fit a 17 x 12 baking sheet. If using 9 x 14 sheets, use additional layers in a 9 x 13 pan.
Nuts:I prefer a combination of walnuts (soft bite) and almonds or pistachios (firm bite), evenly and finely chopped using the pulse action on a food processor or hand chopping. But don’t make it a powder.
Ghee or Clarified Butter: You can find this at most stores, or you can make it from butter (check the recipe in notes section). Ghee has a higher smoke point and imparts a fantastic flavor to the baklava. Regular butter has over 15% water and can cause uneven baking.And it canleave brown specksfrom the milk solids on the baklava.
Sweetener:I use sugar with some honey to make the syrup. Healthier options are available, and tips for selecting them are below under “variations”.
Flavors:The aromas of rose water, cardamom and ghee make this baklava unique. You can find rose water online or at Middle Eastern stores. And grinding cardamom seeds fresh provides the best flavor. The aroma is intense, so start with less if you are not sure.
Lemon Juice:This helps prevent crystallization, keeping the syrup juicy for weeks. You can also use corn syrup for this purpose.

How to Make Baklava (Persian Style)

Brief overview below.*Full recipe at the end of blog post.

Prep: Thaw phyllo dough according to package instructions. Make ghee from butter.
Make Syrup: Combine sugar, water, and lemon juice in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stir until sugar dissolves, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add honey and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat, add rose water, and let it cool.
Nut Mixture: Pulse walnuts in a food processor until finely chopped. Repeat with almonds. Then mix with sugar and cardamom.
Assemble the Pastry: Keep ghee melted and warm. Layer the baklava in a 17 x 12-inch baking sheet with 10 sheets at the bottom, half of the nut mixture, 6 sheets in the middle, the remaining nut mixture, and 12 sheets on top. Brush each layer with ghee.
Bake: Cut into diamond shapes and bake at 350°F for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 325°F and bake for another 40 minutes.
Serve: Cool to room temperature for 2 hours, then pour cooled syrup evenly over the pastry and let it soak overnight. Garnish with pistachios and cut again before serving.

Easy Baklava Without Buttering Each Phyllo Sheet

Place 12 phyllo sheets in the baking sheet, spread nut mixture, top with remaining 16 sheets, and cut into diamond shapes. Drizzle melted ghee evenly and swirl the pan. Bake and add syrup as in the recipe above.
This quick method produces good baklava, but the standard recipe I have in the recipe card gives more perfect results.

Top Tips

Make sure that the phyllo dough sheets are easy to separate before assembly by allowing them to thaw at room temperature. Keep the package closed until ready to use and have all other ingredients prepared beforehand.

Start by brushing the edges of the phyllo dough and work towards the center to prevent cracking. Patch up torn sheets and use for middle layers, saving the best sheets for the top. Gently press down each sheet before brushing with ghee to compress and even out any air spaces.

To make slicing easier, refrigerate the assembled baklava for a few hours or freeze briefly to firm up the layers. For better oven heat exposure, avoid using deep baking dishes. Keep an eye on the time and temperature to ensure the phyllo layers are baked through while preventing the nuts from burning.

After cooling completely, the baklava syrup should have a consistency between honey and maple syrup, sticky enough to hold the phyllo layers together. Let both the baklava and syrup reach room temperature before pouring, for an incredibly crisp and flaky result that lasts for weeks.

All that syrup will get absorbed perfectly – I have done it hundreds of times. The baklava isperfect after a day or two. This trick was shared with me by a Syrian whose family owned a pastry shop.

While you can pour cooled syrup over warm baklava or warm syrup over cooled baklava, the pastry may not remain as crisp after a few days. If both the pastry and syrup are hot, it may become soggy.

There is another unconventional trick to help the sheets cling and make cutting easier. You can drizzle a thin layer of honey over the nuts before laying the phyllo sheet and pressing down gently.

Variations

Below are some suggestions, but I have not tried some of them.

Vegan:Check phyllo package for vegan suitability. Use neutral oil, like avocado or corn oil, instead of ghee. No recommendations on vegan butter substitutes, as I have not used them. Also, use vegan sugar and avoid honey.
Gluten Free:You can make homemade phyllo dough with gluten free flour and binding agent. Tutorials are available online, but I haven't tried them.
Nut Free:Consider using shredded coconut or seeds such as sesame, pumpkin, or sunflower, along with some dried fruits like raisins, for the filling.
Dairy Free:Substitute ghee with a neutral-tasting oil, such as avocado oil or corn oil.
Light Baklava:
- You can mix ghee with avocado oil or just use olive oil, as shown in this recipe.
- Since the aroma of ghee is stronger, you can use less of it and mix it with a neutral-tasting oil. Using half oil can lower saturated fat without sacrificing flavor.
- If you have lactose intolerance or dairy sensitivity, using ghee may be a better option since it contains less lactose or casein. Additionally, opt for grass-fed dairy to enjoy greater health benefits from conjugated linoleic acid.
- For a refined sugar-free baklava, try a honey and orange juice-based syrup like the one used in this Persian Love Cake. Be sure to simmer the syrup such that it reaches a consistency between that of honey and maple syrup when cooled.
- Each piece of this baklava contains 10g of carbs, 6g of which are from sugar. To make this dessert suitable for diabetics, use a low-carb or sugar-free syrup and skip the sugar in the filling. Try allulose, a new sweetener that is gaining acceptance.

Recipe FAQs

Persian baklava Vs Greek Baklava. What is the difference?

Persian baklava incorporates the scents of rose water and cardamom and is typically made using a blend of finely ground nuts and homemade dough. On the other hand, Greek baklava features honey syrup and is infused with hints of cinnamon, other spices and lemon.

Howdo you keepbaklavafrom getting soggy?

To ensure the perfect baklava, bake phyllo layers thoroughly by lowering the temperature and increasing baking time as needed, while monitoring nuts.

Over-baking at high temperature can cause the top and bottom layers to brown too much while leaving the layers in between undercooked, resulting in a soggy baklava. Test your first attempts in a glass dish for optimal results.

The syrup should be thick, between honey and maple syrup consistency, to prevent sogginess. If the baklava and syrup are both very hot it can also lead to sogginess.

Butter phyllo sheets well before baking, and use clarified butter or ghee for even baking. Regular butter has relatively higher water content.

Howdo you keepbaklavafrom getting dry?

Brush the phyllo sheets generously with ghee. The syrup should have a moderate thickness and be made with ingredients like lemon juice or corn syrup that help prevent crystallization. In addition, applying heat for a longer time, as in this recipe, can change the sugar chemistry and prevent crystallization. Use enough syrup to fully cover the baklava and make sure to maintain the right nut-to-syrup ratio.

Can you freeze baklava?

Baklava can be frozen in freezer-safe containers for couple months and enjoyed later. When ready to eat, thaw the pastry overnight until it reaches room temperature. However, for the best texture, store baklava at room temperature.

Can I makebaklavaahead?

Prepare the nut filling, ghee and syrup up to 4 days in advance. Keep phyllo dough in fridge for up to a week before use. Assemble the baklava and then refrigerate or freeze it before baking. Thaw the pastry to room temperature before baking.

How can I make it easier to cut the baklava?

Chill the assembled baklava for several hours or briefly freeze it to make it firmer before cutting it into the desired shapes using a sharp knife.

More Middle Eastern Desserts

Maamoul (Date Filled Cookies)
Chia Muhallebi (Milk Pudding With Pistachios)
Ranginak (Date Walnut Dessert)
Nan-e Nokhodchi (Chickpea Cookies)

★DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? PLEASE COMMENT AND GIVE IT A STAR RATING BELOW!

5 from 9 votes