Pistachio Baklava
Thirty layers of filo, three layers of spiced pistachio and walnut, and a citrus syrup poured over at exactly the right temperature. Cutting it before baking is the step everyone forgets.
Photograph credit: Baklava by Leonid Yaitskiy · Public Domain Mark 1.0 · Flickr
Before You Start
Hot pastry, cold syrup. Reverse it and you get soggy baklava every time.
Chop the nuts by hand or pulse briefly; a food processor turns them to powder that packs down solid.
Baklava is at its best on day two, once the syrup has settled through every layer.
Making Pistachio Baklava
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Make the syrup first so it has time to cool: simmer the sugar, water, honey, citrus peels, cinnamon and cloves for 12 minutes, then add the lemon juice, strain and cool completely.
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Mix the chopped nuts with the sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt.
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Brush a 30 x 22 cm tin with melted butter. Lay in eight sheets of filo, brushing each one generously with butter.
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Scatter over half the nut mixture. Add six more buttered sheets, then the rest of the nuts.
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Finish with the remaining sheets, buttering each, and press the whole thing down firmly with your palms.
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Using a very sharp knife, cut the baklava into diamonds all the way through to the base of the tin. This must be done before baking.
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Sprinkle a few drops of water over the top to stop the edges curling, then bake at 170°C / 340°F for 50 to 55 minutes until deep golden throughout.
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The moment it comes out of the oven, pour the cold syrup evenly over the hot baklava. It will hiss loudly.
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Leave uncovered for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight, so the syrup fully penetrates. Do not refrigerate.
Related guides: Prep, cook and total time · Pan and tin size.
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Why It Works
Syrup and pastry must be at opposite temperatures: cool syrup poured over hot baklava is absorbed quickly without steaming the layers soft, whereas hot syrup on hot pastry turns the whole thing to mush. Cutting all the way through before baking lets the syrup reach every layer later.
Leftovers, Reheating and Keeping
Keeps 1 week loosely covered at room temperature. Never refrigerate, which makes the filo leathery. Freezes 3 months.
What to Serve Alongside
- A strong Greek coffee or a glass of Mavrodaphne
- Serve in small pieces — it is intensely rich
- Follows any Greek meal
Common Questions About Pistachio Baklava
How long does Pistachio Baklava take to make?
40 minutes of preparation and 50 minutes of cooking, plus 6 hours of resting, so allow 7 hours 30 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 24.
Pistachio Baklava Nutrition
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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