Greek baklava recipe: the traditional method step by step

A recipe for baklava Greek style layers buttered filo with chopped walnuts and cinnamon, cuts the tray into diamonds before baking and finishes it with a cool honey-lemon syrup poured over the hot pastry. Plan on about an hour of active work and at least four hours of resting time afterwards.

What ingredients do you need for Greek baklava?

Greek baklava needs filo pastry, walnuts, butter, sugar, honey, lemon and cinnamon. This amount fills one 23 by 33 cm (9 by 13 inch) baking tray and cuts into about 24 pieces.

For the pastry

• 450 g (1 lb) filo pastry sheets, thawed
• 250 g (about 1 cup) unsalted butter, melted
• 400 g (about 3 1/2 cups) walnuts, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 tablespoons sugar

For the syrup

• 375 ml (1 1/2 cups) water
• 300 g (1 1/2 cups) sugar
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) honey
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 strips of lemon peel and 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Thaw the filo overnight in the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for an hour before opening it. Cold filo cracks when unrolled.

How do you prepare the walnut filling?

The filling is walnuts mixed with sugar, cinnamon and cloves, chopped to a coarse crumb. Chopping in a food processor with short pulses is quick, but stop before the nuts turn to flour or paste.

1. Toast the walnuts in a dry pan for three to four minutes if you like a deeper flavour, then cool them.
2. Pulse or chop them until they resemble coarse crumbs.
3. Mix in the cinnamon, cloves and sugar.

How do you layer the filo?

Layering means brushing the tray with butter, stacking half of the sheets with butter between each, spreading the filling, then stacking and buttering the remaining sheets.

1. Trim the filo sheets to fit the tray.
2. Brush the tray with melted butter and lay in one sheet. Brush it with butter, right to the edges and corners.
3. Repeat until you have used half of the sheets, about 10 to 15.
4. Spread the walnut mixture evenly over the top.
5. Cover with the remaining sheets, buttering each one.
6. Brush a final coat of butter over the top.

Keep the unused filo under a slightly damp cloth while you work, because the sheets dry in minutes and then crack. A tear in the middle layers does not matter, since it is hidden.

Why cut baklava before baking?

Baklava is cut before baking because baked filo shatters under a knife, while raw layers cut cleanly. Cutting also gives the syrup channels to run down through the tray.

Use a sharp, thin knife and cut all the way to the bottom. Make parallel lines about 4 cm apart, then cut diagonally across them to form diamonds. Some bakers press a whole clove or an almond into each piece as decoration.

How long do you bake baklava?

Bake the tray at about 170 °C (340 °F) for 50 to 60 minutes, until the top is deep golden and the layers sound crisp when pressed. Ovens differ, so judge by colour as well as time.

If the top colours too quickly, lay a sheet of foil loosely on top for the last 10 minutes.

How do you make the honey-lemon syrup?

Make the syrup by simmering water, sugar, honey, a cinnamon stick and lemon peel for about 10 minutes, then cooling it completely. A cool syrup is what keeps the pastry crisp.

1. Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Add the honey, cinnamon stick and lemon peel.
3. Simmer for 10 minutes, until the syrup coats the back of a spoon lightly.
4. Stir in the lemon juice and remove the stick and peel.
5. Let it cool to room temperature, which takes about an hour.

Start the syrup while the baklava is baking so that both are ready at the same time. The lemon juice also stops the sugar from crystallizing.

What is the hot pastry, cool syrup rule?

Pour the cool syrup over the baklava as soon as it leaves the oven. The temperature difference lets the filo absorb the syrup without turning soggy.

Pour slowly along the cuts and over the surface, and expect a loud sizzle. Leave the tray uncovered on the counter for at least four hours, or overnight. The syrup will gradually move through the layers and the top will stay crackly. Cover loosely only after it has stopped looking wet.

What mistakes ruin homemade baklava?

The most common baklava mistakes are skipping the butter on some sheets, cutting after baking, using hot syrup on hot pastry and covering the tray too soon. Each one has a simple fix.

• Dry sheets: brush every sheet to the corners, because bare patches turn chalky.
• Too fine nuts: a powder packs into a paste, so keep a coarse crumb.
• Shallow cuts: pieces fuse together if the cuts do not reach the base.
• Hot syrup on hot pastry: the filo turns soft and heavy.
• Early covering: trapped steam softens the top within an hour.

If the finished tray tastes flat, a squeeze of lemon in the syrup next time brightens it. If it is too sweet, reduce the honey by a quarter.

How does Greek baklava differ from the shop version?

Pâtisserie Afroditi lists baklava among its Greek pastries, according to Tastet and the shop’s other public listings, but it does not publish its recipe, nut choice or syrup. The method here is a general home recipe, not the shop’s own.

Baklava is on the recorded menu with no flavours or prices, so this guide states none. If you prefer to buy rather than bake, see the menu page for the items on record, and call the shop at +1 514-274-5302 for what is in the case. The hours and location page lists opening times.

Common questions

This page is part of the independent guide to Pâtisserie Afroditi, which has the address, hours and menu.

This article is general information from an independent guide, not from Pâtisserie Afroditi itself. For the store’s current details see hours and location.