Greek Food Sweets & Desserts

Greek Baklava with Walnuts and Honey Syrup Recipe

Name: Greek Baklava
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 460 min
Ingredients: 300 g sugar; 250 ml water; 150 g honey; 1 cinnamon stick; 3 strips of lemon peel; 1 tbsp lemon juice; 400 g walnuts; 100 g blanched almonds; 50 g sugar; 2 tsp ground cinnamon; 1/4 tsp ground cloves; 450 g filo pastry (thawed); 250 g unsalted butter (melted, ideally clarified); 30 whole cloves (optional, to decorate)

Crisp layers of buttered filo and cinnamon walnuts, soaked in a honey, cinnamon and lemon syrup.

Serves

30 pieces

Calories

250 kcal

Cuisine

Greek

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Diamonds of Greek walnut baklava glossy with honey syrup, each with a whole clove in the centre

On this page: What is it · History · What you need · Step by step · Serving & storage · Recipe card

Baklava is the most famous sweet in Greece: crisp layers of buttered filo and spiced walnuts, baked until golden and soaked in a honey syrup scented with cinnamon and lemon. Done well, it is crunchy, sticky and fragrant, never soggy.

The rule that makes the difference is simple. Cold syrup goes onto hot baklava, straight out of the oven. The pastry absorbs the syrup without going soft, and the layers stay crisp.

It takes a little time to layer, but it makes a big tray that keeps for a week.

What Is Baklava?

Baklava (μπακλαβάς) is a layered pastry of thin filo sheets brushed with butter, filled with chopped nuts and sugar, baked and then soaked in syrup. The Greek version typically uses walnuts, sometimes mixed with almonds, and a syrup made with honey, cinnamon and lemon or orange peel.

It is cut into diamonds or squares before baking so the syrup can soak into every piece.

In Greece, baklava is served with coffee, for celebrations and especially at Christmas and Easter. Some cooks use exactly 33 sheets of filo, one for each year of the life of Christ.

A Little History

Serving a piece of homemade baklava from a round tray with Greek coffee on a lace tablecloth

Layered pastries of nuts and dough were made across the Byzantine and Ottoman worlds, and baklava as we know it today took shape in the kitchens of the Ottoman palace in Istanbul.

Greek, Turkish, Armenian, Levantine and Balkan cooks all have their own versions. The Greek style became known for walnuts, cinnamon and a syrup that includes honey, a nod to the ancient Greek love of honey and nut sweets.

Today it is found in every zacharoplasteio, the Greek pastry shop, and in family kitchens before every big holiday.

Planning a trip, or just back from one? Our Greece travel and food guide covers where to eat, where to stay and what to explore.

At a glance

Serves

30 pieces

Calories

250 kcal

Protein

4 g

Course

Dessert

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Why it works

01 Cold syrup on hot pastry keeps it crisp

02 Cut before baking for clean pieces

03 Keeps at room temperature for a week

Tray of Greek walnut baklava cut into diamonds with honey and cinnamon, seen from above

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What You Need

Exact amounts are in the recipe card

For the Syrup

sugar
water
honey
cinnamon stick
strips of lemon peel
lemon juice

For the Nut Filling

walnuts
blanched almonds
sugar
ground cinnamon
ground cloves

For the Pastry

filo pastry, thawed
unsalted butter, melted, ideally clarified
whole cloves, optional, to decorate

Ingredients for Greek baklava: walnuts, almonds, filo pastry, butter, sugar, honey, cinnamon, cloves and lemon

Step-by-Step Instructions

Make the syrup first so it has time to cool completely. Then chop the nuts, layer the filo, cut, bake and pour.

Honey syrup simmering with a cinnamon stick and lemon peel for Greek baklava

1. Make the syrup

Put the sugar, water, honey, cinnamon stick and lemon peel in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then simmer for 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and leave to cool completely.

Tip: The syrup must be cold when the baklava comes out of the oven. Make it first, or even the day before.

Finely chopped walnuts and almonds mixed with sugar, cinnamon and cloves for baklava filling

2. Prepare the nuts

Pulse the walnuts and almonds in a food processor until finely chopped but not powdery. Mix with the sugar, cinnamon and cloves.

Brushing melted butter over filo sheets layered with walnut filling for Greek baklava

3. Layer the filo

Heat the oven to 170 °C (150 °C fan). Brush the dish with butter. Lay in 8 sheets of filo, brushing each one with butter. Scatter over a third of the nuts, add 3 buttered sheets, then repeat twice more. Finish with 8 buttered sheets on top.

Tip: Keep the filo you aren’t using covered with a damp tea towel so it doesn’t dry out and crack.

Cutting unbaked baklava into diamonds with a sharp knife, a whole clove in each piece

4. Cut and bake

With a very sharp knife, cut all the way through into diamonds or squares. Press a whole clove into the centre of each piece if you like. Brush the top with the remaining butter and bake for 50 to 60 minutes until deep golden and crisp.

5. Add the syrup and rest

As soon as the baklava comes out of the oven, ladle the cold syrup evenly over the hot pastry. It will sizzle. Leave uncovered at room temperature for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight, before serving.

Serving & Storage

Serving

Serve baklava at room temperature with Greek coffee or strong black coffee. A spoonful of thick Greek yoghurt on the side balances the sweetness.

Lift pieces out with a small spatula and place them in paper cases for parties or gifts.

Storing Leftovers

Store baklava at room temperature, loosely covered. The fridge makes the syrup harden and the pastry go soft.

Room temperature	up to 1 week
Fridge	not recommended
Freezer (well wrapped)	up to 3 months

Cover loosely with a clean tea towel or baking paper rather than cling film, so the pastry can breathe and stay crisp.

Greek Baklava

Crisp layers of buttered filo and cinnamon walnuts, soaked in a honey, cinnamon and lemon syrup.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Greek

Pin Recipe

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 55

Soak 6

Total Time 7 40

Servings pieces

Calories 250

Equipment

23 x 33 cm baking dish
Food processor
Small saucepan
Pastry brush
Sharp knife

Ingredients

Syrup

300 g sugar
250 ml water
150 g honey
1 cinnamon stick
3 strips of lemon peel
1 tbsp lemon juice

Nut Filling

400 g walnuts
100 g blanched almonds
50 g sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Pastry

450 g filo pastry thawed
250 g unsalted butter melted, ideally clarified
30 whole cloves optional, to decorate

Clarified butter gives the crispest result: melt the butter and pour off the clear fat, leaving the milky solids behind.

Swap some of the walnuts for pistachios for a greener, slightly richer filling.

Instructions

Put the sugar, water, honey, cinnamon stick and lemon peel in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then simmer for 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and leave to cool completely.
Pulse the walnuts and almonds in a food processor until finely chopped but not powdery. Mix with the sugar, cinnamon and cloves.
Heat the oven to 170 °C (150 °C fan). Brush the dish with butter. Lay in 8 sheets of filo, brushing each one with butter. Scatter over a third of the nuts, add 3 buttered sheets, then repeat twice more. Finish with 8 buttered sheets on top.
With a very sharp knife, cut all the way through into diamonds or squares. Press a whole clove into the centre of each piece if you like. Brush the top with the remaining butter and bake for 50 to 60 minutes until deep golden and crisp.
As soon as the baklava comes out of the oven, ladle the cold syrup evenly over the hot pastry. It will sizzle. Leave uncovered at room temperature for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight, before serving.