Bakllava — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

Layer upon layer of buttery phyllo pastry filled with crushed walnuts and spices, baked until crisp and drenched in warm sugar syrup. Kosovo's premier festive pastry.

Ingredients

500g phyllo dough
400g walnuts, finely chopped
200g butter, melted
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
400g sugar
300ml water
Juice of half a lemon
1 tbsp honey

Instructions

1 Brush a baking tray with butter and layer eight sheets of phyllo, brushing each with melted butter.
2 Mix walnuts with cinnamon and cloves, and spread half over the phyllo.
3 Add four more buttered phyllo sheets, then the remaining nut mixture.
4 Top with eight more buttered phyllo sheets, then cut into diamond shapes with a sharp knife.
5 Bake at 175°C for forty to forty-five minutes until deep golden.
6 While baking, make syrup by boiling sugar, water, lemon juice, and honey for ten minutes, then cool slightly and pour over the hot bakllava.

Did You Know?

In Kosovo, bakllava trays are so large they require two people to carry — making enough for the whole neighborhood.