Baklava

Greek Walnut Baklava with Honey-Lemon Syrup

Crisp, paper-thin filo layered with butter and walnuts, soaked in a honey-lemon syrup scented with cinnamon and clove. The contrast of shatteringly crisp top and syrupy base is the hallmark of a good baklava.

Prep

40 min

Cook

50 min

Total

90 min

Serves

24 pieces

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •500 g (1 lb 2 oz) filo pastry, fresh if possible; thaw in fridge overnight if frozen
• •400 g (14 oz) walnuts, or 200 g walnuts + 200 g pistachios; roughly chopped, not powdered
• •250 g (8½ oz) unsalted butter, melted, plus a little for the tin
• •250 g (1¼ cups) honey, Greek thyme honey if available
• •200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar
• •250 ml (1 cup) water
• •1 whole lemon, juice + a strip of peel
• •1 stick cinnamon, broken
• •2 whole cloves
• •1 tsp ground cinnamon, for the nut filling
• •2 tbsp fine breadcrumbs, to keep the bottom layers crisp
• •1 tsp ground cloves (optional)

Steps

1. 1 Make the syrup first so it can cool: combine sugar, water, lemon peel, the cinnamon stick and whole cloves in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar, and cook 8 minutes. Stir in the honey and lemon juice, simmer 1 minute more, then remove the peel, cinnamon stick and cloves. Cool to room temperature, then chill in the fridge.
2. 2 Butter a roughly 33 x 23 cm (13 x 9 in) baking tin and dust with the fine breadcrumbs, tapping out the excess.
3. 3 Stir the ground cinnamon (and ground clove, if using) through the chopped walnuts.
4. 4 Unroll the filo and keep it covered with a damp, clean tea towel — it dries out in minutes. Trim so the sheets fit the tin.
5. 5 Place one sheet in the tin and brush right to the edges with melted butter. Repeat for 7 more sheets so you have 8 buttered layers on the bottom.
6. 6 Sprinkle about one third of the nuts in an even layer. Top with 2 filo sheets, each brushed with butter, then another third of nuts. Repeat the buttered-fil layering once more, then finish with the remaining nuts.
7. 7 Top with the final 8 sheets, brushing each with butter and brushing the top thoroughly too.
8. 8 Using a very sharp knife, score the baklava all the way through into diamonds or squares (cut only — don't separate). For a cleaner cut, chill the unbaked baklava 20 minutes before slicing.
9. 9 Bake on the middle rack at 170°C / 340°F (fan 160°C / 320°F) for 40–50 minutes, until the top is a deep, even golden brown and the pastry looks crisp at the edges.
10. 10 As soon as it comes out of the oven, spoon the cold syrup slowly and evenly over the hot baklava, starting at the edges and working inward so the pastry doesn't collapse. Use all the syrup.
11. 11 Let it rest at room temperature, uncovered, for at least 4 hours — ideally overnight — so the syrup is fully absorbed and the base is soaked but the top stays crisp.
12. 12 Re-cut along the scored lines and serve at room temperature with strong Greek coffee or black tea.