Baklava with Walnuts, Pistachios and Honey
Paper-thin filo, walnuts and pistachios, soaked in honey syrup. The star of every festive table.
Baklava is loved across a vast region stretching from Turkey to Central Asia. At Uzbek weddings and holidays it holds pride of place on the tea table.
Three secrets of homemade baklava
- Butter on every sheet. This is what separates the layers and makes them crisp.
- Cut before baking. Baked baklava shatters if you try to slice it.
- Temperature contrast. Hot pastry with cold syrup, or the other way round.
Nutrition
Per serving (≈ 50 g). Approximate values.
How to make it
4 steps · start a timer right inside a step
Make the filling
Pulse the walnuts and pistachios in a food processor to a coarse crumb, not a powder. Stir in the cinnamon and set aside a spoonful of pistachios for decoration.
Layer
Butter a baking tin. Lay in a sheet of filo, brush with butter and repeat to build up eight sheets. Scatter over a third of the nuts and cover with four more buttered sheets. Repeat, finishing with eight sheets, buttering every layer.
Cut and bake
Before baking, use a sharp knife to cut the baklava into diamonds right down to the base. Pour over the remaining butter and bake at 170°C for 45–50 minutes until golden.
Add the syrup
While it bakes, simmer the sugar and water for ten minutes, add the honey and lemon juice and let it cool. Pour the cold syrup over the hot baklava so it stays crisp. Sprinkle with pistachios and leave to soak for at least four hours.
Cook’s tips
- 1Cover the filo with a damp tea towel so it doesn’t dry out.
- 2Clarified butter (ghee) keeps the top from turning pale.
- 3Try a pinch of cardamom in the syrup.
- 4Use a sharp, heavy chef's knife to score the layers all the way to the bottom of the pan before baking, as the brittle pastry will shatter if you try to cut it after it cools.
Serving & storage: Serve these squares at room temperature with a dollop of unsweetened Greek yogurt or a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream to balance the sweetness. They can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week, though they are best consumed within three days to maintain the crisp texture of the pastry.
Storing
Keep baklava at room temperature in an airtight container; the fridge makes it hard. It stays good for five to seven days and actually tastes better on day two.
The takeaway
Baklava needs care and patience more than effort. Serve it with green tea, whose gentle bitterness balances the sweetness perfectly.
