Layers of butter phyllo and nuts and a honey drizzle combine in this Pistachio Walnut Honey Baklava recipe to create a delightful dessert. The accompanying cinnamon whipped cream makes it extra special.
Oh, dessert. It has become a habit in our house. And it’s one I am okay with. Ending a meal with something sweet and special is a treat.
Have you also had a dessert resurgence in your house?
Baklava is a lovely dessert that makes a ton and can be eaten slowly over the course of a week. So while this is a little more complicated than your average SCB recipe, it will provide sweet endings to your meals for a while. Not a bad trade-off.
Are you familiar with baklava? It’s a classic dessert with deep historical origins that can be traced back as far as the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century, though some accounts say it traces back even farther to the Assyrians in the 8th century BC.
There are many ethnic groups that lay claim to baklava as being theirs, including those of Turkish and Greek origins. Throughout the versions and claims, a few things are similar: it features flaky layers of phyllo (or fillo) dough, nuts and is sweetened with a syrup often made with honey.
And it feels fancy. So there’s that too.
Sure, you could whip up mini cupcakes or little cookies for serving after dinner — but if you make baklava, you are almost guaranteed oohs and aahs of the most epic proportions.
I highly recommend it. And I highly recommend this version.
This version of baklava is made mini and filled with both pistachios and walnuts. Then the layers of flaky, buttery goodness are bathed in a honey-sugar-vanilla mixture that makes it absolutely delightful.
Finally, finish it all off with a swirl of cinnamon-laced whipped cream.
How to Make Baklava
Making baklava is all about patience. And although it’s time-consuming, it’s not that difficult to make.
To begin making Pistachio Walnut Honey Baklava, preheat your oven and butter your glass 9×13-inch baking dish. Then, make your filling. Simply combine the walnuts and pistachios in the bowl of a food processor and whirl until they are fine pieces.
Transfer the nuts to a bowl and stir together with cinnamon and pepper. Yes, pepper. It adds a little oomph to this recipe.
Then, layer two sheets of phyllo dough, butter it and add two more. Continue until you have eight slices in the bottom of the pan.
Sprinkle that dough with about 1/4 cup of the nut mixture. Top with two more slices of phyllo, butter and repeat. Keep going until you’ve used all the filling. Then, finish it off with a layer 6 to 8 phyllo slices thick. Butter the top.
Next, you want to cut the baklava with a sharp knife. Yes, before baking – otherwise you won’t get those pretty diamonds of sticky baklava goodness at the end. Make diagonal slices about 1-inch apart going in perpendicular directions.
Bake that baby for about 45-55 minutes. It will get all golden and crisp. Yum!
When the baklava is just about done, stir together the water, sugar, honey and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once that mixture becomes translucent, it’s time to pour it over the fresh-from-the-oven baklava. It will bubble like crazy when you do. That’s good. Once you’ve poured it all over, let it sit for at least four hours.
Now, cut it again – along those same lines you created before baking.
Finally, make the whipped cream: Place the heavy cream, sugar and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl and use a whisk or hand mixer to whip to soft peaks. Chill this until ready to use.
Pistachio Walnut Honey Baklava is the dessert you didn’t know you were missing. Just try it.
Pistachio Walnut Honey Baklava with Cinnamon Whipped Cream
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb walnuts
- 1/2 lb shelled pistachios
- 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 16-oz package phyllo dough
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup honey (suggested: raspberry honey)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Whipped cream:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp confectioners sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x13-inch glass baking dish.
- In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the walnuts and pistachios in batches until finely chopped. Transfer to a mixing bowl and stir together with cinnamon and pepper.
- Lay 2 pieces of the phyllo dough in the buttered pan and brush with butter. Repeat, 2 slices at a time, until 8 pieces of phyllo have been stacked. Sprinkle with about 1/4 cup of the nut mixture. Top with two pieces of phyllo and butter, followed by 1/4 cup of nut mixture. Repeat until all the nut mixture has been used. The top layer of the baklava should be 6-8 slices thick and buttered on top.
- Using a very sharp knife, cut on a diagonal, leaving 1-inch between cuts. Repeat in the opposite direction to form a diamond pattern.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes until golden brown.
- When the baklava is just about done, combine the water, sugar, honey and vanilla in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until its translucent. Once the baklava is removed from the oven, pour the syrup mixture over it, taking care to spread it evenly around the pan.
- Let sit, uncovered, for at least 4 hours before recutting and serving with whipped cream.
- To make the whipped cream: Place the heavy cream, sugar and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl and use a whisk or mixer to whip to soft peaks. Chill until ready to use.
Kate
Monday 10th of August 2020
My dad used to make the best baklava when I was a kid!