February 18, 2022

How To Make Best Baklava Recipe

Here you have the best baklava recipe and how to make it at home. It’s a dessert of layered crisp and golden filo pastry. It’s crispy, flaky, and tender.

Baklava or baklawa (بقلاوة) as we say it in Arabic is one of the most famous Arabic desserts all the time of the year, you can find it everywhere. It is quite expensive but it’s really worth it. it’s one of the best Arabic desserts you will ever try.

Baklava is layers of filo pastry stuffed with walnut or pistachio and after it’s baked, the syrup is poured over it for the filo to soak up. It’s quite a sweet dessert, but it’s very delicious and we drink Arabic coffee after eating it to break the sweetness.

What is the difference between Greek baklava and Arabic baklawa?

The traditional Greek baklava uses a honey-based syrup with some additional spices, generally quite sweet. Arabic baklawa on the other hand uses a simple syrup mixture.

Equipment YOU WILL NEED FOR best baklava recipe:

Scale

Baking pan

Saucepan

Oil/ butter brush

Tablespoon & Teaspoon

Measurements cups:

1 cup = 250 ml

1/2 cup = 125 ml

1/3 cup = 85 ml

1/4 cup = 65 ml

What are the ingredients for the best baklava recipe?

filo pastry

ghee

walnut

sugar

cinnamon

rose water

Syrup

sugar

water

lemon juice

How to make the best baklava recipe

SYRUP:

Over high heat, add sugar and water. Stir for 1 minute and bring to a boil. Once boiling leaves it to boil for 7-8 minutes on low heat then add lemon juice, continuously stirring for 1 minute then turn off the heat. Set aside to cool completely.

FILLING MIXTURE (HASHWEH) for best baklava recipe:

Chop walnuts into small pieces. Add chopped walnuts in a bowl with sugar and rose water. Mix with hands until mixture holds together but can still crumble.

Brush the baking tray with ghee( very important to use ghee). Place 20 filo sheets into baking pan one at a time, brushing each sheet with ghee once it’s in the pan before adding the next (place filo sheet into pan, brush the top with ghee, place next phyllo sheet in a pan, ghee the top).

Spray 2 teaspoons of sugar on the top of the pastry then add the hashweh( walnut mixture) and spray 2 teaspoons sugar on the top and then cover with another 20 layers of filo dough brushing each sheet with ghee. Tuck edges in using your fingers.

Cut into the desired shape and cover with warm ghee.

Place into a preheated oven of 180C lower than mid-shelf. Bake for 15 minutes and then turn the tray around. Bake for another 50-60minutes.

Once the baklava is baked, take it out of the oven and drain excess ghee immediately. Lightly coat in cold sugar syrup. Allow baklawa to completely cool at room temperature for at least 2-3 hours before re-cutting and serving.

Pro tips for best baklava recipe

The first 20 minutes are important when baking, as it’s when the layers are baking into each other. Don’t open the oven beforehand. After rotating the tray, check-in every 15 minutes. The last 10 minutes are crucial as the pastry will brown quickly.

Pour the cold syrup onto hot baklava.

Any leftover syrup keeps it in an airtight container in the fridge or out of the fridge for up to one month or more.

Allow baklawa to completely cool at room temperature for at least 2-3 hours before re-cutting and serving.