Delicious Homemade Pistachio Baklava

Baklava rarely needs any introductions.  It is perhaps one of the most famous and beloved of all Mediterranean sweets.  Its layers upon layers of crispy filo pastry, each one lightly brushed with butter,  filled with chopped nuts and spices, baked until golden brown, and then drizzled with a heavenly honey-and-orange infused syrup produce this truly memorable treat.  There are of course many versions of baklava, but this Delicious Homemade Pistachio Baklava has to be one of my favorites!

No matter what its origin, or variation of the recipe, baklava is a delicious sweet that is surprisingly uncomplicated and easy to make at home.  Once you learn how to make it, you will never again be tempted to buy it as the flavor of fresh, homemade baklava beats the store-made version by a mile.

 Essential Ingredients for Homemade Pistachio Baklava

Fresh ingredients and a good quality filo pastry are essential to a flavorful, homemade baklava.  Here is what you will need:

• Filo pastry:  a packet of thin filo pastry; I used Fillo Factory #4
• Fresh nuts:  fresh, unsalted pistachios, or, a combination of pistachios and walnuts
• Cinnamon and cloves:  these classic warm spices are essential for baklava
• Bread crumbs:  this is a secret ingredient that, when added to the nuts, helps absorb the delicious syrup
• Butter:  regular butter or clarified butter
• Sugar and honey:  to make the honey-and-orange infused syrup
• Orange peel:  adds a lovely citrus flavor to the syrup
• Cinnamon stick:  for the honey syrup (optional)

The Three Components of Homemade Pistachio Baklava

There are three easy steps in making homemade pistachio baklava:

1. Prepare the nut mixture
2. Make the orange-infused honey syrup
3. Layer the filo pastry & Assemble the baklava

Step 1 (prepare the nut mixture) and step 2 (make the honey syrup) can be done ahead of time.  Once the baklava is assembled, you can place it in the refrigerator and baked it the next day.  Once baked, drizzle it with the honey syrup the minute it comes out of the oven.

How to Make the Homemade Pistachio Baklava

1. Chop the pistachio nuts, and walnuts (if using)

2.  Mix the chopped nuts with the warm spices and the breadcrumbs

3.  Make the orange-infused honey syrup

4.  Cut filo stacks into rounds

5.  Start layering the filo sheets, topped with the nut mixture

6.  Score the baklava into a diamond pattern before baking

7.  Bake until golden brown.  Drizzle with the orange-honey syrup and sprinkle with some finely ground pistachio nuts. Allow it to cool and absorb the syrup

Small-Batch Homemade Pistachio Baklava

The ingredients for this recipe make a small batch of baklava, using an 8″ or a  9″ cake pan, which serves 10-12 people.  The recipe can easily be doubled to make an entire tray of baklava in a 13″x 9″x 2″ rectangular pan, or, in two, 8″ cake pans.  Unless you are entertaining a small crowd of people, this recipe makes the perfect amount of baklava for a small gathering.

The perfect Make-Ahead Sweet

Baklava is one of those dishes that always tastes better the longer it sits.  Slowly absorbing the delicious syrup is key to its exceptional taste.  In Greece, it is typically made either the day before or the morning of the day you plan to eat it.

Every time I bake this simple treat, everyone thinks that I must have spend hours in the kitchen making it, but that could not be further from the truth as you can probably see from the step by step photos.  I hope you get to make this delightful treat sometime soon and see for yourselves!

Happy Summer, friends!

This recipe is my latest collaboration with Fillo Factory. You can find this favorite filo dough (along with puff pastry) at Whole Foods and several small local stores.  I love the quality of the Fillo Factory products and I always make sure to stash a couple of boxes in the freezer!

Delicious Homemade Pistachio Baklava

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

35 mins

Total time

1 hour 5 mins

 

A decadent Greek dessert that is surprisingly easy to make!

Author: Marilena Leavitt

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: Greek

Serves: 10-12

Ingredients

• 8 oz. pistachios (or, 4oz. pistachios + 4oz. walnuts), toasted & chopped
• 2 TBSPS. sugar
• 2 TBSPS. plain breadcrumbs
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. ground cloves
• 1 box filo dough, #4, 12”x17” (thawed), at room temperature
• 6 oz. butter, melted
• For the honey syrup:
• 1 cups sugar
• 1 cups water
• ½ cinnamon stick (optional)
• 3 - 1” strips of orange peel
• ¼ cup honey

Instructions

1. For the nut filling: Place the toasted pistachios on a cutting board and chop them until they are a medium-fine consistency. You can also use a food processor for this step, by pulsing the mixture, making sure not to over-process them or they will become a paste. If you are using walnuts too, repeat the same process with the walnuts, separately. Place the chopped nuts in a bowl and combine them with the sugar, breadcrumbs, cinnamon and cloves.
2. For the honey syrup: in a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water, cinnamon stick and orange peels and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the honey and boil for 3-4 minutes so the syrup thickens slightly. Remove from heat and set aside to let cool. You can refrigerate the cooled syrup in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
3. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
4. Start assembling the baklava: unwrap and unroll the filo. Remove 10 sheets of filo from the roll. Wrap well the rest in its package and return to the refrigerator. Place the stack of ten sheets on a large cutting board, and, using the bottom of an 8” cake pan as a guide, cut the sheets of filo into two stacks of 10 - 8” rounds (see photo). You should have a total of 20 filo rounds. Stack the second stack of filo on top of the first stack and cover with plastic wrap and a towel.
5. Start layering: brush the bottom and the sides of the pan with some melted butter. Place one filo sheet in the bottom of the pan and brush it with some butter. Repeat with 7 more filo sheets, placing each one in the pan and making sure to butter each layer. Sprinkle ⅓ cup of the nut mixture evenly over this bottom stack of eight sheets . Place the next 2 buttered filo rounds ontop of the nut mixture and sprinkle another ⅓ cup of the nuts on top of this layer of two. Repeat with two more sheets of buttered filo and the last ⅓ cup of the nuts. Top with the final 8 sheets of filo. There should be about 20 filo sheets in total, depending on the thickness of the filo and the brand you are using.
6. Score: using a small, sharp, serrated knife with a pointed tip, cut the baklava into small, diamond-shaped pieces, like in the photo. The knife should slice almost all the way to the bottom of the baklava.
7. Bake: place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake uncovered, for 35-40 minutes or, until the top layer of filo is light golden and crisp. Every oven is different, so the cooking time may vary.
8. Remove from the oven: the minute you take the baklava out of the oven, pour the cooled orange-honey syrup slowly and evenly over the top of the baklava and especially over the cut lines (the syrup will sizzle). The syrup will all be absorbed as it cools down. Optional: sprinkle the center of each diamond with some very finely chopped pistachios, immediately after adding the syrup.
9. Rest: let the baklava sit uncovered for at least 4 hours before serving.

Notes

-- In order for the (room temperature) syrup to be absorbed properly, it is important to be poured over the hot baklava just as it comes out of the oven.
-- Once cooled completely, store the baklava at room temperature to preserve its crispness, covered loosely, preferable in a cool room, for 3-4 days. After that time, place any leftover baklava in an airtight container and refrigerate. It might loose some of its crispiness but it will still be delicious!

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