Baklava بکلاوا recipe by morEwish

Baklava is a delicious phyllo pastry popular dessert in Middle Eastern countries. Baklava, layers of crisp phyllo dough alternate with a sugary spiced nut mixture, and the whole thing is then soaked in fragrant sweet syrup made with honey and lemon. This baklava is flaky, crisp and tender!

Baklava is a little tedious to make, but I’ve shared all of my best tips and advise to ensure you are successful in making yours. You will love that this recipe can be made several days in advance and keeps beautifully at room temperature for at least a week.

The tissue paper-thin phyllo dough is fragile and breaks easily if not handled properly, but the end product is forgiving so don’t fret if it all falls apart

So for the phyllo dough, I did the layers like this: 10, 5, 5, 5, 5, 10, with walnuts in between each of those sets.

10 buttered phyllo sheets, 3/4 cup nut mixture,
5 buttered phyllo sheets, 3/4 cup nut mixture,
5 buttered phyllo sheets, 3/4 cup nut mixture,
5 buttered phyllo sheets, 3/4 cup nut mixture,
5 buttered phyllo sheets, 3/4 cup nut mixture
10 buttered phyllo sheets and butter the top.

Let baklava sit 4-6 hours or overnight at room temperature for the syrup to penetrate and soften the layers. Garnish baklava with finely chopped nuts or drizzle with melted chocolate. You can easily store Baklava at room temperature, covered for 1 to 2 weeks.

Pistachios are also very popular nut for baklva, and you can do a blend of any nut you wish. However, I really think walnuts have the best taste and texture.

Video in Urdu: 

Video in English: 

Ingredients: 

16 oz phyllo dough thawed by package instructions
1 1/4 cups unsalted butter 10 oz or 2 1/2 sticks, melted
1 lb walnuts, finely chopped (about 4 cups)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice juice of 1/2 lemon
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup honey
Melted chocolate chips & chopped walnuts for garnish optional

Recipe adapted from Natasha's Kitchen!