Walnut Baklava

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour & 45 minutes
Servings: 14 pieces

Walnut Baklava comes with an amazingly crisp and flaky topping, a softer syrupy center that's filled with walnuts and spices, and a heavenly taste that not many people are able to resist!

This Walnut Baklava recipe comes with a little twist. As it contains a small amount of unsweetened cocoa powder in it as well. The amount is enough to enhance all the other flavors without giving any chocolatey flavor.

Ingredients:

For The Syrup:

480 grams sugar
360 ml water
100 grams honey
3 tablespoons lemon juice fresh
2 orange peel
2 stick of cinnamon

For The Filling:

450 grams walnuts finely chopped
2 tablespoos ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon ground cloves

For The Baklava:

480 grams phyllo dough
270 grams butter
40 grams olive oil

Directions:

First, thaw phyllo by placing the package in the fridge overnight. Then leave it at room temperature for 1 hour before opening and using it.
For The Syrup: Add all of the ingredients for the syrup in a small cooking pot or saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. When it starts to bubble, drop the heat to medium and simmer for 6 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool down completely to room temperature.
For The Filling: Mix all of the ingredients for the filling in a mixing bowl and keep it next to you.
For The Baklava: Preheat oven to 160°C using ovens upper and lower heat function if possible.
For this recipe, you will need a 33 x 23 cm baking pan. You may need to cut the phyllo stack in half (or not, some packages contain two rolls of smaller-sized phyllo sheets instead of one roll) and then trim it a little bit to fit inside the pan.
Place the stack of phyllo in a sheet pan or on your working surface and cover it with a tea towel so it won't air-dry.
My stack had 24 phyllo sheets. Count the phyllo sheets so you can divide them evenly between the layers of filling. I used 5 sheets for the base then 3 sheets between each layer of filling, a total of 4 times. Then 7 sheets for the top of the Baklava. If your package has more than 24 sheets simply add one more sheet here and there it won't make a difference.
Melt the butter in a saucepan and then mix it with the olive oil. Keep the butter in the saucepan. Since it will take some time until you finish up with all of the Baklava layers you may need to reheat it a bit, later on.
Brush the baking pan with a bit of the melted butter and oil mixture.
Place 5 phyllo sheets in the pan and brush each one of them with melted butter.
Sprinkle ⅕ of the filling on top. Then add 3 more phyllo sheets again brushed with butter in between. Repeat this process until you have used all of the filling. If you are left with more than 7 phyllo sheets for the top that's perfectly fine.
Add the remaining sheets of phyllo on top brushing each one with butter.
Cut into 3 wide strips and then divide the strips into squares. Cut the squares in half diagonally to get 12 triangular pieces.
Pour the remaining melted butter on top and brush it to spread evenly. Sprinkle lightly with your fingers a bit of water on top.
Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes on the lowest rack of your oven (not the bottom).
Ladle the cold syrup over the Baklava right as you get it out of the oven. Then leave it to cool down to room temperature before refrigerating. You can even serve it at room temperature.
Serve with raw honey and walnut (or chopped walnuts) on top. You may keep it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or at room temperature.

Tips & Notes:

Thaw properly. The best way is to leave the package inside the fridge overnight. And then at room temperature for about an hour before using.
Depending on the size of the filo sheets you may need to cut them in half or trim them to fit inside the pan.
Always cover the stack of phyllo with a teatowel so it won't air-dry.
It doesn't matter if it tears. No one will be able to tell in the final result!
Thaw properly. The best way is to leave the package inside the fridge overnight. And then at room temperature for about an hour before using.
Depending on the size of the filo sheets you may need to cut them in half or trim them to fit inside the pan.
Always cover the stack of phyllo with a teatowel so it won't air-dry.
How To Make Baklava Crispy: Making Baklava crispy will depend on three things. One is baking it properly, the second is the temperature and thickness of the syrup when added to the Baklava. And the third is cutting the Baklava all the way to the bottom before baking it.
It doesn't matter if it tears. No one will be able to tell in the final result!
Storing: You can keep Baklava either at room temperature or in the fridge. In both cases, it will last for up to two weeks. Because the syrup acts as a preservative.
Keep in mind though, that it's a very sweet dessert that's made with syrup so it's gonna taste even sweeter when served at room temperature. This is why I always like to keep mine in the fridge. But that really depends on your liking. Either way, enjoy!