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5 from 3 votes

Turkish Baklava Recipe

Turkish Baklava Recipe made with crisp and buttery phyllo pastry, pistachios and syrup, a fantastic dessert that screams perfection. Overly indulgent, sweet, rich, my version of baklava is well simplified and fail-proof. It might not be the quickest dessert to make for a party, but it's surely worth the effort and every single calorie. I will show you how to make a baklava that everybody will want a slice of.
Prep Time1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Chilling Time6 hours
Total Time8 hours 15 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Turkish
Servings: 35 squares
Calories: 206kcal

Ingredients

  • 24 sheets phyllo pastry
  • 3 cups pistachios (500 g)
  • 200 g butter
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions

  • To make the syrup, add the sugar, water and lemon juice to a pan set over a low to medium heat.
  • Bring it to a boil, and leave to simmer for 15 minutes until slightly thickened.
  • Leave to cool completely.
  • Melt the butter over a low to medium heat. If you want to get clarified butter, use a spoon to remove the white foam that forms over the butter when it melts - or you can just leave it, it's entirely optional.
  • Shell the pistachios, then either chop them finely, or blitz them in a food processor.
  • Brush butter over the bottom of a large rectangle baking tray - mine is 40x27cm, or 15x10 inches.
  • Arrange a sheet of phyllo pastry over the buttered tray, and brush it with more melted butter.
  • Repeat with 7-8 more sheets of pastry.
  • Sprinkle a third of the pistachios over the 8th sheet of phyllo, then repeat the process with other 7-8 sheets of buttery phyllo.
  • Sprinkle another third of pistachios, then again repeat with 7-8 more sheets of pastry.
  • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit).
  • Slice the baklava into squares - I got 7x5 squares, so 35 in total.
  • Bake for 20 minutes on the middle rack of the oven, then lower the temperature to 150 degrees Celsius (300 Fahrenheit).
  • If the baklava browns too quickly, cover it well with kitchen foil.
  • Bake for a further 25-30 minutes until the top with crispy and golden brown, and all the layers are baked through.
  • Pour over the cooled syrup, and sprinkle the remaining pistachios all all over the top.
  • Leave to cool overnight.

Notes

  • Click on the US Customary link to see the measurements displayed in cups and ounces.
  • The servings can be adjusted by clicking the number next to Servings.

Nutrition

Calories: 206kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 105mg | Potassium: 119mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 187IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 1mg