Greek walnut baklava
Crisp buttered filo layered with cinnamon walnuts and soaked with cool lemon-honey syrup while piping hot.
Prep45 min
Cook55 min
Rest360 min
Oven170°C
Servings24
Adapted for the home kitchen from documented Greek recipe references
Ingredients
Written for a 23 × 33 cm dish
Units
Temperature
Servings
- 300 g walnuts, coarsely chopped rounded
- 8 g ground cinnamon rounded
- 2 g ground cloves rounded
- 450 g filo pastry, about 20 sheets rounded
- 250 g clarified butter, melted rounded
- 400 g sugar rounded
- 300 ml water rounded
- 120 g honey rounded
- 1 lemon, zest and 20 ml juice rounded
- 1 cinnamon stick rounded
Dietary labels are a guide, not a guarantee. If you have an allergy, read the ingredients yourself.
Method
- Simmer the sugar, water, honey, lemon zest, and cinnamon stick for 5 minutes, then stir in 20 ml lemon juice. Cool the syrup completely and remove the stick.
- Mix walnuts with ground cinnamon and cloves. Heat the oven to 170°C and butter a 23 x 33 cm metal tin.
- Layer eight filo sheets with clarified butter, add half the walnut mixture, add five buttered sheets, then the remaining walnuts. Finish with seven buttered sheets, which uses the pack.
- Chill 10 minutes, then cut diamonds all the way through. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes until deeply golden and crisp.
- Immediately ladle the cold syrup over the hot baklava. Leave uncovered for at least 6 hours before serving.
Notes
- Cold syrup over hot pastry preserves the crispest layers.
- Clarified butter reduces milk solids that can burn during the long bake.
- Store covered loosely at room temperature, not in the refrigerator.
- Keep the filo covered with a damp towel as you work; sheets left out go brittle within minutes.
Sources consulted
Good with
- Greek salad with sardines
- Prasopita: Greek leek, feta, and herb pie
- Spanakopita: spinach, feta, dill, and leek pie
Sources consulted
From Christoph Mayer