THE BEST BAKLAVA RECIPE

This is hands down THE BEST BAKLAVA you'll ever make! My perfectly crispy walnut baklava recipe is a crowd pleaser every time. Tested and approved by my Arabic in-laws that name my baklava as better than local Turkish baklava shops!

There are 3 main secrets to making the best baklava in the world, and believe it or not, it is incredibly easy and you can do it today! All it takes in making perfect crispy baklava is a little bit of patience and following my steps below. Do not try to go outside of these directions this is a perfect recipe I've made over 50 times.

All you need to make the best baklava recipe is literally just 8 ingredients. That is it! My baklava recipe is made with phyllo dough, butter, walnuts, cinnamon, and a honey syrup.

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WHAT IS TRADITIONAL ARABIC BAKLAVA MADE OF?

Traditional baklava is made out of 40 sheets of phyllo dough layered with butter, nuts, and then drizzled with syrup. The 40 layers of phyllo dough give it the signature flaky, airy, and crispy texture.

And if you want to pronounce baklava like a local, say baklawa instead of baklava!

Baklava in Arabic: بقلاوة

How to pronounce Baklava in Arabic: "Bak-lah-wah"

WATCH HOW I MADE THE BEST BAKLAVA

BAKLAVA INGREDIENTS

Choose the highest quality ingredients from my list below, believe me the type of butter you use does matter! I use a high quality grass fed butter that has a much higher fat content than the store brand table butter and gives me ultra crispy perfect baklava.

• 1 package of frozen Phyllo dough (NOT puff pastry)
• ½ cup melted grass fed butter
• ½ cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup pure honey
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Where do I find phyllo dough in the grocery store? You can find phyllo dough usually located in the freezer section near the pie crusts and puff pastry. Phyllo dough is sold in narrow rectangular boxes.

Is Puff Pastry the same as Phyllo Dough? Puff pastry is not the same as phyllo dough and you won't get the same result if you substitute it. Phyllo dough is much thinner than puff pastry dough.

3 SECRETS TO MAKE THE BEST BAKLAVA IN THE WORLD

Want to make the best baklava recipe at home that will leave your friends and family stunned?!

1. USE HIGH FAT BUTTER. You will know that your butter is high quality and high fat when it looks way more yellow than you are used to. Real butter isn't really supposed to be white. I use a grass fed butter in my baklava recipe. If you butter has less fat and more water then you might get soggy baklava.
2. BRUSH EACH LAYER WITH MELTED BUTTER. Do not be fooled by the easy baklava hack videos of someone simply pouring a cup of melted butter over top of all the dough. Real baklava takes a bit of time, but it is well worth it to create a perfect crispy perfection.
3. POUR HOT SYRUP OVER BAKLAVA IMMEDIATELY. Your baklava syrup should be simmering as your baklava bakes in the oven. Once your baklava is golden brown, take it out of the oven and pour the simmering syrup over it immediately. This is necessary so the baklava absorbs all the syrup and there is not a pool of syrup left at the bottom of the pan which would make your baklava soggy.

Baklava should sound crunchy when you bite into it. If it is not, either it is old baklava and you've been fooled at a restaurant into thinking it was fresh... or the homemade one wasn't made properly.

Baklava should have a rich, sweet and slightly earthy taste (from the walnuts or pistachios). If it tastes sickly sweet, or bland, or ... off then it is probably old or someone skimped with the ingredients!

Follow my steps and you will make the best baklava recipe in the world!

HOW TO MAKE THE BEST BAKLAVA

Start by thawing out a roll of frozen phyllo dough. Yes you can use frozen phyllo dough and get authentic delicious baklava!

A note about frozen phyllo dough: make sure you thaw it completely before unrolling. IF you don't thaw it out, it can crack as you unroll it (as seen below). This is okay because you are going to cut it anyway. But if you wanted to cut it into diamond shapes, you won't be able to do so if it cracks lengthwise.

Once your baklava phyllo dough is thawed at room temperature, carefully unroll the dough on a large cutting board.

Next, cut your dough in half lengthwise. This will roughly fit your 9 x 13" baking pan. If it is a bit too large for the pan, just slice the excess dough off the edges.

Grease the bottom and sides of your pan generously with butter. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Can you use a smaller pan? Yes! you can definitely use a smaller pan and cut the phyllo dough to fit. But, you might end up with a shorter baking time so keep an eye on your baklava while it cooks.

HOW TO MAKE WALNUT FILLING FOR BAKLAVA

Toss the 1 pound of chopped walnuts in 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon in a bowl.

If you bought whole walnuts like I did, use your blender or food processor to chop them into small pieces. The walnut pieces should be about the size of a green pea and some smaller crumbs. You can also chop your baklava walnuts on a cutting board.

If you prefer pistachio baklava, simply substitute the walnuts for pistachios the bake time and everything else in this recipe is the same.

Next, melt 1 cup of butter in the microwave.

HOW TO ASSEMBLE WALNUT BAKLAVA

This next part is essential for making the best baklava recipe! Don't skip buttering between each of the two layers of phyllo dough!

Lay two sheets of phyllo dough on the bottom of your greased baking pan. Use a pastry brush to brush the entire top of the dough with the melted butter. Repeat this 4 times so that you have a base layer of 8 sheets with no walnuts.

BAKLAVA BASE IS:

2 sheets phyllo dough, brush with butter x 4= 8 sheets

Next, begin adding your walnut filling. Sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons of the walnut and cinnamon mixture evenly across the dough.

Top with 2 sheets of phyllo dough.

Brush with more butter. You will repeat this process 7-8 times.

WALNUT BAKLAVA FILLING:

2-3 tablespoons walnut filling, add 2 sheets phyllo dough, brush with butter. Repeat 7-8 times.

BAKLAVA TOP LAYER:

Add 2 sheets phyllo dough on top of the walnuts. Brush with butter.

Add 2 more sheets of phyllo dough. Brush with butter. Repeat this 3-4 times so your top layer is 6-8 sheets deep with no walnut filling.

HOW TO CUT BAKLAVA BEFORE BAKING

Yes baklava is cut before baking and not after!

You can be cut your baklava into rectangles, like below which I find easier. Or you can get fancier and cut it into diamonds! I chose rectangles because my dough ripped and I had to utilize that seam that ripped.

When you are cutting baklava before baking, make sure your knife goes all the way through to the bottom. I run my knife through each cut twice to make sure it is completely separated as a single piece.

Walnut Baklava cut into rectangular shape:

Pro tip: dip your knife in water before slicing baklava!

Baklava cut into triangle shape:

Finally, brush the top of your cut baklava with butter again.

BAKLAVA BAKING TEMPERATURE AND TIME:

Bake cut baklava in your preheated oven (350 degrees Fahrenheit) for 45-50 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

Spoon the hot honey syrup over your hot baklava immediately after taking it out of the oven.

HOW TO MAKE BAKLAVA HONEY SYRUP

While your baklava bakes, make the honey syrup.

You should make the baklava honey syrup when the baklava has about 30 minutes left. If you make the honey syrup too early, your syrup might get too thick to absorb into your baklava. I like to think of the perfect baklava honey syrup consistency as the difference between real maple syrup and artificial maple syrup. You want the consistency to be more watery, like real maple syrup. If it is thick like artificial maple syrup, you have boiled it too long!

In a saucepan, dissolve the 1 cup sugar in 1 cup water over medium high heat. Bring this mixture to a boil.

Reduce the heat to medium low. Add the 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and ½ cup honey.

Keep your honey syrup at a simmer for about 20 minutes until the baklava is done baking.

The baklava is done baking when the top is a nice golden brown color. Air on the side of a darker brown golden brown, this will help add to the crispiness of your finished dessert!

Once your baklava is done baking, you can pour the honey syrup over the top. For the best baklava recipe ever make sure you're pouring the syrup over the baklava immediately!

Remove your baklava from the oven and immediately pour the honey mixture over the top.

Make sure you pour the honey mixture evenly across all pieces.

Allow your walnut baklava to cool & get crispy before serving.

Enjoy!

FAQ's

Why is my baklava not crispy?

Baklava must be cut before baking to ensure that not only it bakes properly, so that your dough can quickly absorb the honey syrup after it is taken out of the oven. Make sure to not boil your honey syrup for too long though! If your syrup is too thick it will not absorb into the baklava and sit at the bottom, making the bottom layer of your baklava very soggy.

Another thing that makes baklava crispy is that each layer of phyllo dough is brushed with melted butter. Make sure to brush each and every layer evenly with melted butter!

Finally, you might have removed your baklava too soon from the oven. Make sure the top is very golden brown before you take it out of the oven.

If it is not crispy, you either have not baked it for long enough, didn't layer the sheets properly with the butter mixture, or waited too long to pour the honey syrup over the top after baking.

How do you make walnut baklava not soggy?

First, you must brush each layer with melted butter to make sure you get crispy phyllo dough. Don't try to quickly throw the phyllo dough in without the melted butter. Melted butter brushed across each layer is necessary to get that flaky crispy texture.

Also, the honey syrup must be poured over top of your baklava immediately after removing it from the oven. If you let your pan cool too much, they honey mixture will sit in your pan and make your dough become soggy. When you pour the hot simmering honey into the hot pan from the oven, it will easily be absorbed by the phyllo dough and leave your with a nice crispy shell.

I always keep my honey syrup simmering right up until I take the pan from the oven. Then, I immediately pour all the hot honey syrup into the hot pan. If done correctly, you will see a lot of steam evaporate off the pan as you are pouring the honey mixture.

HOW TO SERVE WALNUT BAKLAVA

It is best served fresh the day of baking after it has cooled down. Serve each piece by itself as the delicious flavor is more than enough! But, some people like to serve it with vanilla ice cream on the side.

Do you heat up baklava? Never heat it up after baking! If you heat it up you will lose all the phyllo dough's crispiness and it will taste awful.

HOW TO STORE WALNUT BAKLAVA

Store at room temperature covered with a big piece of aluminum foil or a towel. You don't want to store it for too long as it will start to get soggy. The best amount of time to store baklava at room temperature is for about 3 days. But, it never lasts that long in our house!

If you are worried about it going bad and wasting it, just make a smaller sized batch in a smaller pan.

Looking for more Middle Eastern inspired dessert recipes? You'll love these recipes next!

1. Basbousa with Cream
2. Qatayef
3. Stuffed Dates
4. Rose Milk Cake
5. Pistachio cardamom cupcakes
6. Arabic Butter Cookies

If you try my recipe for The Best Baklava, please let me know your thoughts by leaving a rating and comment below! Ready for more? Subscribe to my newsletter or follow along on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube!