Baklava has always been one of my favourite things to eat. I can't describe how delicious a baklava is when it is crispy but still sweet and syrupy. Loaded with nuts and spices, Baklava has to be one of the best sweet treat options. This pistachio and pecan baklava recipe is no different!
I chose Pistachios because I asked my Instagram followers and that was the resounding preference. I added pecans to the mix because I wanted the texture and warmth that pecans bring. The majority nut in this baklava is pistachios though so if you are not a fan of pecans, don't worry! You won't be able to taste them massively. If you are super averse to them, just sub them out for walnuts or more pistachios.
Ingredients
The ingredients for this baklava are actually very straight forward! All you will need is....
- Filo pastry
- Pistachios
- Pecans
- Cinnamon
- Butter
- Sugar
- Honey/ maple syrup
- Water
- Cloves
- Lemon
Instructions
Baklava making feels like it should be harder than it is. The creation of such a delicious pastry treat feels as though it should take hours to prepare and bake. However it really doesn't take that long and is actually relatively simple! The process requires you to make a nut mix by grinding nuts and spices together to form a nut crumb. Then, you layer thin slices of filo pastry with butter repeatedly, until you add 2 nut layers in between the filo pastry layers. Once you bake the baklava, you will pour over a simply sugar syrup that you would have made... and that's it!
make the nut mixture
keep layering
start layering
slice the baklava into preferred shape
Substitutions
If you fancy something a bit different, you could spice this recipe up and swap/ change things out to make it your favourite baklava recipe ever!
- Nuts - instead of using pistachios and pecans, you could use walnuts, peanuts, cashews or even almonds. Whatever your preference is!
- Syrup - you could mix up the syrup if you didn't fancy a clove/ lemon vibe. You could easily replace the lemon with orange for another beautiful flavour or the cloves for a cinnamon stick. This would be a delicious syrup for the baklava.
Equipment
You will need a saucepan to make the syrup, a food processor to chop the nuts finely and a large baking tray for the baklava.
Storage
Store the pistachio and pecan baklava in an airtight container at room temperature. Good for 4-5 days.
I hope you give this pistachio and pecan baklava a go so that you can enjoy the deliciousness of baklava and realise how easy it is to make! Please let me know how you get on in the comments section below. I hope you love this recipe.
Pistachio and Pecan Baklava
Ingredients
- 270 g Filo pastry 1 pack
- 300 g Pistachios
- 170 g Pecans
- 1 tablespoon Cinnamon powder
- 10 tablespoon Melted butter + more if needed
- 70 g Sugar super fine, white
- 230 ml Water
- 170 g Honey/ Syrup
- 3 Whole cloves
- 2 tablespoon Lemon juice
Instructions
- In a saucepan, add the sugar and water. Place onto a medium-high heat until the sugar has dissolved. Then add the honey/ maple syrup and cloves. Bring to a boil and then leave it to simmer for 20 minutes. Once this time is up, remove from the heat and add the lemon juice.
- Pre-heat your oven to 180°C/ 356°F.
- In a high power food processor, add your pecans and pistachios. Blend until a fine crumb has formed. Then, add the cinnamon. Combine.
- Cut your filo pastry into the correct shape for the baking tray that you are using. You may have a tray where the filo fits perfectly so you can skip this stage! But if you do have to trim edges, do this with a sharp knife.
- Layer each slice of ⅓ of the filo up with butter. The easiest way to do this is by using a brush to brush the butter on. However, if you don't have a brush you could use the back of a spoon or just your hands! Once you have layered ⅓ of the filo up with butter in between each layer, spread half of the nut mixture on top of the filo. Then, repeat the same process with the filo pastry and butter for another ⅓ of the filo pastry. Then, add the remaining half of the nut crumb. Finally, use the last ⅓ of the filo pastry to follow the same process again- brushing the filo pastry each stage with butter. Spread butter on the top filo pastry layer.
- Whilst it is still raw, cut the baklava into your desired shape. See photos to see how I cut mine. Bake the baklava for approximately 20 minutes. Watch this though as you may want to remove earlier depending on your oven heat spots. If you want your baklava less golden than mine, reduce the time slightly.
- Once the baklava is out of the oven, pour over the strained sugar syrup. Ensure you evenly pour this over all of the baklava pieces.
- Leave the Baklava to cool completely. Then, devour. I hope you love it!
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