Baklava

Recipe

Baklava

Makes about 50 blocks or 24 cigars

This famous Greek dessert is a wonderful mixture of nuts, spices, honey, and crispy layers of phyllo pastry. It can be cut into diamond-shapes or squares like they do traditionally or formed into long rolls (cigars) and then baked. It’s perfect as a dessert or as part of a special tea table. It’s really easy to make, just follow the steps below. 

Ingredients

Filling

150 g (1¼ cups) macadamia nuts

150 g (1 cup) almonds

10 ml (2 tsp) ground cinnamon

7,5 ml (½ tbsp) ground allspice

0,6 ml (⅛ tsp) ground cloves or ground cardamom

15 ml (1 tbsp) lemon juice

15 ml (1 tbsp) finely grated lemon rind

75 ml (5 tbsp) soft brown sugar

Syrup

300 ml sugar

75 ml (5 tbsp) honey

375 ml (1½ cups) water

5 strips of lemon rind, made with a vegetable peeler

15 ml (1 tbsp) lemon juice

1 whole cinnamon stick

Phyllo

8-10 sheets phyllo pastry, fresh or frozen and thawed

180 ml (180 g) butter, melted

50 whole cloves, if the baklava is cut in squares

Method

1. Filling: Place nuts in a food processor and blend until very finely chopped. Add spices, lemon juice, rind and sugar and mix well. Set aside. Preheat oven to 200 °C and line two baking trays with baking paper.
2. Syrup: Place all the ingredients in a small pot and stir over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring the syrup to the boil and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Cover with a lid, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly, until baklava is baked.
3. Phyllo: Cover sheets of phyllo with a dry tea towel and the dry cloth with a lightly dampened one to prevent the phyllo from drying out, as this happens very easily. Keep covered at all times.
4. Remove one sheet of pastry and place on the working surface. Gently brush with a thin layer of melted butter. Place a second sheet on top and brush again. Brush another double layer of phyllo with butter and place on top of the first set.
5. Fold sheets of phyllo in half. Line the base of a deep baking or oven dish (about 34 x 25 x 3 cm) with the buttered phyllo.
6. Spoon half the filling onto phyllo layer and spread evenly. Brush another two phyllo sheets with butter and place on top of the filling. Spoon the remaining filling on top and spread evenly.
7. Brush another set of two double sheets of phyllo with butter, fold in half and place on the filling.
8. With a sharp serrated knife, cut the layers of phyllo and filling diagonally in portions to form diamond shapes. Place a clove in each block.
9. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.
10. Immediately spoon syrup over warm phyllo and allow to cool down completely. The syrup will be absorbed by the warm pastry. Baklava is best served on the day it is baked.

Tips

1. Pistachio nuts and almonds are typically used in Baklava but due to the cost of pistachio nuts, macadamias, pecans or walnuts are often used as a substitute.
2. Keep any leftover Baklava in an air-tight container in the fridge for a day or two.
3. BAKLAVA CIGARS: Prepare the filling and the syrup as above. Line two baking trays with baking paper and lightly grease with butter. Brush two sheets of phyllo with butter, on a clean work surface, as explained above in step 5. Place two sheets on top of each other. Slice with a sharp knife or pizza cutter, lengthwise, into 3 equally broad strips. Cut each strip, width wise, in 3 equal-sized blocks. Spoon 15-20 ml of the filling on the edge of the short side of each block, closest to you. Fold a small portion of the short side of the phyllo over the filling and gently press down. Fold a small piece of phyllo from each of the long sides, over the filling and roll the phyllo neatly into a cigar – make sure that the sides stay tucked in, close to the filling. Don’t roll them too tightly. Brush with more butter as above and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Pack the cigars in a shallow baking dish and pour about half of the syrup over the warm cigars so that they can absorb the syrup . Allow to cool and serve lukewarm or at room temperature. Enjoy any remaining syrup with pancakes, flapjacks or ice cream for another dessert. TIP: The cigars can be filled and rolled in advance and buttered on top. Then cover and refrigerate for an hour or two. Bake as above and pour the syrup over.

Photo by Adel Ferreira for LiG Tydskrif, Spring 2025.