Cakes & biscuits
Walnut baklava
Buttered filo layers filled with walnuts and finished with lemon syrup.
- Total time
- 300 min
- Servings / pieces
- 24
- Topic
- Cakes & biscuits
Ready-made filo makes baklava more approachable in a home kitchen. Keep the thin sheets covered while working because they dry and crack quickly. Each layer needs only a thin film of butter; a puddle in the bottom of the dish does not improve crispness. Cut the pastry before baking, since the brittle finished layers are difficult to divide neatly. This version combines cold syrup with hot pastry. A subsequent resting period allows the sweetness to spread through the lower layers.
Method
Step by step
- 01
Cook syrup
Bring sugar, water, lemon juice and peel to a boil. Simmer gently for five minutes, remove peel and cool completely.
- 02
Prepare
Finely chop walnuts and mix with cinnamon. Melt butter. Heat the oven to 170°C conventional.
- 03
Layer
Grease the dish. Trim filo to fit. Butter and stack about one-third of the sheets individually. Add half the nuts, the middle third of buttered sheets, remaining nuts and remaining buttered pastry.
- 04
Cut and bake
Cut 24 pieces down to the base before baking. Bake for 45–55 minutes until the lower layers are golden and crisp as well as the top.
- 05
Soak
Slowly pour cold syrup over the hot pastry. Rest uncovered for at least three hours before carefully lifting out pieces.
Times are a guide. Your hob, oven and ingredients affect the result; use the cooking cues as well as the clock.
Handling filo
Open thawed sheets according to the packet instructions. Keep unused sheets under a slightly damp cloth without soaking them. Small tears in the middle layers do not matter; reserve the neatest sheets for the upper layers where they remain visible.
Nuts and syrup
Chop walnuts finely without grinding them into an oily paste. Distribute syrup through the cut lines and wait for absorption: adding extra syrup does not automatically improve a still-warm portion. Use a sharp, narrow knife and cut right down to the base. Merely marking the top layers will not produce neat portions later. Trim sheets projecting beyond the dish before baking so those exposed edges do not scorch prematurely.
Kitchen questions
One more question?
Can I use pistachios?
Yes, replace walnuts with unsalted pistachios for a different flavour and colour.
Why is the base pale?
The dish or oven position may provide insufficient bottom heat. Check the lower layers before adding syrup.
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