Greek Baklava Recipe With It's No Fail Little Secrets (2024)

This perfectly glazed, crunchy piece of heaven, is in fact, a piece of Classic Greek Baklava. And it's literally one of the most irresistible desserts ever! Especially if it's properly made. There are mainly two things that can go wrong when making a Baklava.

The first is, to not be baked properly, leaving the phyllo chewy and whitish in color. And the second is not adding enough syrup, which leads to a very dry Baklava. No worries though, I have all the little tips and no-fail secrets you need, in order to avoid both circ*mstances. But also to avoid, any other situationthat could possibly go wrong when making a Greek Baklava.

I have also included a step-by-step, picture tutorial to make it even easier. But first things first... Let's make clear of:

What is Baklava and what it's made of

Baklava is a crispy pastry dessert, made out of layers of Phyllo sheets, and a nut mix filling. It's usually almonds or walnuts, sometimes both, and sometimes pistachios are used as well. Traditionally it is scented with cinnamon and cloves, although orange zest may also be used as well. After it gets SLOWLY baked, a hot syrup made with honey is sprinkled on top. Giving baklava a caramelized, melt-in-your-mouth texture.

If you are a true fan of Baklava, don't miss this post with the TOP 5 BAKLAVA RECIPES.

An authentic Baklava should be crispy, crunchy, and pretty syrupy.You can easily achieve that if you follow the no-fail little secrets below. These are tips you learn after making Baklava a number of times. Orlearn them from people who themselves have made Baklava way too many times. So here they are...

Baklava's N0-Fail Secrets

1. Let the phyllo package in the fridge overnight to unfreeze then at room temperature for 1 hour before using.
2. Roll open the phyllo sheets gently on your working surface and cover them with a teatowel so they won't air-dry.
3. Take one phyllo sheet at a time while covering the rest with a towel (they air-dry quickly).
4. Make sure you cut the Baklava all the way to the bottom layers so it bakes properly.
5. Baklava is baked at alow temperature for more than one hour.
6. The syrup is made first and left to cool down to room temperature before pouring it over the Baklava.
7. Baklava should reach room temperature before refrigerating. Refrigerating a warm Baklava may lead to the syrup forming sugar lumps.
8. When making syrup, make sure that all utensils are very clean. Nothing should get in touch with the syrup because it may getcrystallized.
9. Never stir syrup after it starts to boil. Again it might crystallize. That's why lemon juice is added to thick syrups to help prevent this.

I hope you feel ready now for some Baklava making. Personally, I avoid making it too often because it's the only dessert I cannot resist (and I don't even have that problem with chocolate which is pretty addicting for most people ).

The recipe gives a whole 11''x15''/ 26x36 cm baking pan of it, which is enough to add a smile to many people's faces. Well, that would be about 16 of them.

This recipe is using a large pan. If you want to make a Baklava in a classic 9 x 13-inch pan by trimming the phyllo and skipping the folding (as it is done in this recipe), check out my other recipe for Walnut Baklava.

Have fun and do tell me how it goes!

SIMILAR RECIPE:

Recipe

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE...

More Greek Dessert Recipes