Today, I will show you how to make baklava at home, step-by-step. Certainly, this is a perfect dessert for the whole family. Also, it's best if you make baklava ahead of time because it tastes even better the next day!
In fact, making baklava at home may seem a tough task at first, but believe me, it's easier than you think. After all, just follow every step I describe here in order to make the perfect baklava every single time you make it.
Baklava is a delicious sweet dessert made of layers of phyllo pastry filled with ground or chopped nuts coated with a simple syrup made of sugar, water, and lemon. Definitely, it's the most delicious make-ahead dessert!
You should store homemade baklava in an airtight container either at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. If you want to preserve its crispiness keep it at room temperature. On the other hand, by storing it in the refrigerator you'll get baklava with a more chewy texture.
Of course, this baklava recipe is totally vegan. Truly, it doesn't contain any honey and is dairy-free and egg-free. Also, be sure to use filo pastry that is vegan-friendly.
Time needed: 1 hour and 15 minutes.
How to Make Baklava (Easy Step-by-Step Guide)
- Prepare the nut and peanut butter filling
First, make the filling. In a food processor put all nuts (hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts). Pulse a few times until the nuts are well chopped. Next, transfer it to a big bowl and add dry cranberries and peanut butter. Then, mix well all the ingredients.
- Make the dressing for filo dough
Next, in a large coffee mug mix mineral water, oil, and baking soda. With a spoon, mix frequently before you sprinkle the filo with it.
- Sprinkle with dressing every sheet separately
After that, take one sheet from the filo pastry and lightly sprinkle it with the water-oil dressing. Since you don't need to soak the entire sheet, just sprinkle with a spoon, to cover most of it. Be careful not to tear it down.
- Fold the sheet
Now, fold evenly, from both sides, toward the center. Sprinkle with dressing again. It's best if you move relatively quickly, therefore, preventing the phyllo from drying out.
- Fold again
At this instant, fold the sheet again, overlapping both sides. Then, sprinkle once more, and at one end put approximately ⅛ cup of the filling.
- Fold it in triangle
Next, fold the bottom corner up and over the filling to the opposite edge, thus creating a triangle.
- Create a triangle
Continue to fold the triangle up and over to the opposite side each time, until you reach the end of the sheet. Without delay, repeat the same with the remaining sheets and filling.
- Grease baking pan
Next, place all triangles on the greased baking pan. Pour the remaining dressing over the triangles.
- Bake the baklava
Bake baklava triangles for 25-30 minutes or until golden. Then, allow triangles to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes before pouring the syrup.
- Make the syrup
In the meantime, combine water, sugar, and slices of 1 lemon in a saucepan. Bring to boil, then let it simmer for 5 minutes. Leave it on the stove for 10-15 minutes. The syrup should be lukewarm (slightly warm, not very hot), for you to pour it over the baklava.
- Pour over the syrup
Pour the warm syrup over the cooled baklava and let it soak for at least 6-8 hours (it's best for it to rest overnight). The baklava should be stored uncovered at room temperature for the purpose of preventing sogginess. Just give it enough time for the syrup to be properly absorbed, soften the layers, and for all flavors to blend together.
- Serve and enjoy
Finally, garnish baklava with finely chopped nuts. Serve it with your favorite coffee and enjoy! This baklava dessert is best after it seats for a while, at least 6-8 hours is fine, to let the sheets be softened and absorb the syrup. Baklava is even better the next day.
Baklava ingredients
- Filo dough - you'll need 500gr phyllo (filo) dough thawed according to package instructions. Filo dough should be paper-thin, even thinner. My package has 17 sheets.
- Nut mixture - mix finely chopped hazelnuts, almonds, and walnuts (½ cup of each nut), ½ cup dry cranberries, and ½ cup peanut butter for the filling
- Baklava dressing - ⅔ cup mineral water, ¼ cup sunflower oil, ¼ tablespoon baking soda
- Homemade syrup - in a saucepan combine 2 cups sugar, 1 ½ cups water, and 1 lemon (thinly sliced)
📖 Recipe
How to Make Baklava
Equipment
- Food processor
- Saucepan
- Baking pan
Ingredients
For the nut and peanut butter filling
- ½ cup hazelnuts finely chopped
- ½ cup almonds finely chopped
- ½ cup walnuts finely chopped
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup peanut butter
For the dressing
- ¼ cup sunflower oil plus more for greasing the baking pan
- ⅔ cup mineral water
- ¼ tablespoon baking soda
For the baklava syrup
- 2 cup sugar
- 1 ½ cup fresh water
- 1 lemon thinly sliced
For baklava
- 500 grams filo dough
Instructions
- First, prepare the filling. In a food processor put all nuts (hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts). Next, pulse a few times until the nuts are well chopped. Then, transfer it to a big bowl and add dry cranberries and peanut butter. Mix well all the ingredients.
- Next, in a large coffee mug mix mineral water, oil, and baking soda. With a spoon, mix frequently before you sprinkle the filo with it.
- Then, take one sheet from the filo pastry and lightly sprinkle it with the water-oil dressing. You don't need to soak the entire sheet, just sprinkle with a spoon, to cover most of it. Be careful not to tear it down.
- Fold evenly, from both sides, toward the center. Sprinkle with dressing again. It's best if you move relatively quickly to prevent the phyllo from drying out.
- After that, fold the sheet one more time, overlapping both sides. Sprinkle once more, and at one end put approximately ⅛ cup of the filling.
- Fold the bottom corner up and over the filling to the opposite edge, thus creating a triangle
- Continue to fold the triangle up and over to the opposite side each time, until you reach the end of the sheet.Without delay, repeat the same with the remaining sheets and filling.
- In the end, place all triangles on the greased baking pan. Pour the remaining dressing over the triangles.
- Bake baklava triangles in a preheated oven at 200°C for 25-30minutes or until golden. Allow triangles to cool at room temperature for 30minutes before pouring the syrup.
- In the meantime, combine water, sugar, and slices of 1 lemon in a saucepan. Bring to boil, then let it simmer for 5 minutes. Leave it on the stove for 10-15 minutes. The syrup should be lukewarm (slightly warm, not very hot), for you to pour over the baklava.
- Pour the warm syrup over the cooled baklava and let it soak for at least 10 hours (it's best for it to rest overnight). The baklava should be uncovered ( to prevent sogginess) at room temperature, give it enough time for the syrup to be properly absorbed, soften the layers, and for all flavors to blend together.
- Finally, garnish baklava with finely chopped nuts or the remains of the nut filling. Serve it with your favorite coffee and enjoy! This baklava dessert is best after it seats for a while, at least 6-8 hours is fine, to let the sheets be softened and absorb the syrup. Baklava is even better the next day.
Notes
- Make sure first to defrost the filo dough in the fridge.
- It's very important that the syrup is lukewarm, and baklava is cooled when you pour it over it.
- Handle the filo sheets gently.
- Finally, this baklava dessert is best after it seats for a while, so it's perfectly fine if you could make it the day before you plan to serve it.
Nutrition
Now, when you know how to make baklava at home, why not surprise your loved ones with this sweet make-ahead dessert?
I would love to hear about your experience and your comments just make my day! And don't forget to rate it, leave a comment below, and share your photo on Instagram with the tag @go_eatgreen and hashtag it #go_eatgreen.
Love, Marinela💚
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