Puff Pastry Baklava: A Step-by-Step Recipe with Photos

Puff pastry baklava is a simpler and quicker way to make this classic Eastern dessert at home. Traditional Turkish baklava, like Greek or Persian recipes, is made with the thinnest unleavened filo dough, which is difficult to make at home or buy in a store. However, many home cooks note that using thinly rolled ready-made puff pastry makes the dessert no less delicious and as close to the original recipe as possible.

Nutritional value per serving

432 kcal

Proteins: 8.3 g
Fats: 26.4 g
Carbohydrates: 40.2 g

*Nutritional value is calculated per 100g of ingredients

Total time: 1 hour
Time in the kitchen: 1 hour
Complexity:

It's easy and straightforward to prepare, but it does require some experience. Not everyone can do it right the first time.
Number of servings: 20

We've previously discussed how different variations of baklava primarily differ in the dough and nuts used in their preparation:

Turkish – this is a classic recipe made with filo dough (up to 30 layers) with pistachios or walnuts, as well as natural honey;
Greek – the recipe is very similar to the Turkish one, but the dough is a little thicker, so the dessert has fewer layers; lemon and cinnamon are often added to the honey;
Azerbaijani – fluffy yeast dough with almonds or walnuts, saffron may be present in the honey syrup;
Armenian – thinly rolled out dough (can be either yeast or yeast-free) with the addition of nuts and spices (cloves, cinnamon);
Iranian (Persian) – the finest filo pastry, nuts and rose water for soaking;
Crimean – yeast or shortcrust pastry, walnuts with added sesame seeds, and natural honey.

Recipes for preparing many national versions of baklava at home are presented on our website.

Today we'll tell you how to quickly and easily make delicious, crispy baklava at home using puff pastry, a recipe often referred to as "lazy baklava." This Eastern dessert can be made using either homemade or store-bought puff pastry, which significantly speeds up and simplifies the entire preparation process.

Our puff pastry baklava, a recipe you can easily recreate at home, features regular walnuts. Instead of melted butter, we'll use egg whites whipped with sugar to coat the layers, resulting in a lighter, fluffier dish. But don't worry, the baklava will have the perfect creamy flavor, as the butter is already included in the puff pastry recipe.

Homemade puff pastry baklava

Puff Pastry Baklava – A Simple Step-by-Step Recipe for Homemade Baklava

Ingredients

Servings

Puff pastry

500 G
Walnuts

400 G
Egg whites

4 pcs
Egg yolks

2 pcs
Sugar

150 G
Vanilla sugar

10 G
Honey

100 G
Milk

2 tsp
Cinnamon (ground)

0.5 tsp
Salt

1 pinch

Preparation

Step 1

Let's begin our step-by-step recipe by preparing the dough. Since we'll be making baklava using store-bought puff pastry, it needs to be removed from its packaging and defrosted.

Roll out the thawed dough lightly to fit the baking pan and trim off any excess edges. 500 grams should make three layers.

Please note! The first and last layers need to be slightly larger to allow for the edge to be folded over. The middle layer can be made in several layers, but the bottom and top layers are best made in one piece.

Step 2

Place the middle cake layer on a baking sheet and bake in the oven at 220℃ for approximately 15 minutes.

Step 3

Grind the walnuts in a blender. Don't try to make the mixture too fine or too uniform. In fact, it will taste better if the walnut mixture has pieces of varying sizes, as shown in the photo.

Step 4

Add a little cinnamon to the nuts (you can increase the amount or skip this step entirely). You can also add a little clove or nutmeg to the baklava if desired. The spices will impart a special aroma and add a particularly delicious oriental flavor to the nuts.

Step 5

Next, beat the egg whites.

Add a pinch of salt and 10 g of vanilla sugar to the egg whites and beat until soft peaks form. Then gradually add 150 g of regular granulated sugar, continuing to beat until stiff peaks form.

Step 6

Add nuts and spices to the whites and mix well.

Step 7

Place the first layer of puff pastry on parchment paper in a baking pan and cover with nut meringue.

Step 8

Place the previously baked middle cake layer on top.

Step 9

Place the second half of the filling and distribute it evenly over the surface of the cake.

Step 10

Cover with the top layer of raw puff pastry and carefully tuck the edges in with a spatula, as shown in the photo.

Step 11

Combine two egg yolks with a small amount of milk (about 2 teaspoons) and stir.

Step 12

Grease the top layer of dough with the egg-milk mixture and cut the dough into pieces.

Step 13

Bake in the oven at 220℃ for about 30-35 minutes.

Step 14

Remove the finished baklava from the oven and cut it again so that each piece is better soaked in honey.

Step 15

While the baklava is still warm (but not too hot), pour it generously with natural honey and let it soak well.

This puff pastry baklava with nuts and meringue keeps at room temperature for up to 24 hours. Refrigerated, it will keep for up to 3 days, and frozen, it will keep for up to 3 weeks.

You can also make an Eastern dessert of puff pastry with nuts in honey syrup using the step-by-step recipe in this video: