Vegan Baklava
Baklava is an enticing Middle Eastern dessert. Delicate layers of golden filo pastry sandwich a filling of nuts and all of it is doused in an exquisitely flavored sugar syrup. This vegan baklava has all of that allure and then some more!
Servings: 42 squares (approximately)
Calories: 127kcal
Equipment
- 12 X 9 inch baking dish
- Small saucepan
Ingredients
- 16 oz filo pastry sheets (cut sheets in half to fit baking dish. To do this, fold the stack of filo sheets in half, then run a sharp knife carefully along the inside of the fold to cut. You can also do this with scissors, although I find it easier to use a knife).
- 6 tablespoons vegan butter (melted. Or use olive oil or any other oil of choice).
- 2 cups nuts (I used walnuts and sliced almonds. You can also use pecans or pistachios).
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cardamom (green cardamom)
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
For sugar syrup
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons rose water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
- Place nuts in the food processor and pulse until finely chopped but not powdery. Add the sugar and ground spices and pulse a couple more times to mix.
- Brush the bottom and sides of a 12 X 9 inch baking pan with vegan butter or olive oil. Carefully layer one filo pastry sheet in the bottom of the baking pan and brush it with butter. Continue layering and brushing with vegan butter or oil until you've used up a third of the sheets. (A package of filo pastry typically yields 21 9' X 24' sheets, so you will have around 14 half-sheets in each layer.)
- Layer half the nuts over the final layer of filo. Continue layering another 14 sheets, brushing each layer with butter. Sprinkle the remaining nuts over the top in an even layer.
- Layer on the final third of filo sheets, brushing each with vegan butter or oil. Use a sharp knife to carefully cut diamond shapes in the layered baklava, cutting all the way to the bottom. Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven for 50 minutes.
- About 25 minutes before the baklava is done, place the ingredients for the sugar syrup in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once the syrup boils lower heat to a simmer and let it cook 20 minutes.
- As soon as the baklava comes out of the oven pour the hot sugar syrup evenly over it. If you hand-pound the spices, as I did, you can use a strainer to strain them out--they've already added all their flavor to the syrup.
- After pouring the syrup over the baklava, you can optionally top it with more nuts and rose petals for a pretty look. Let the baklava cool to room temperature, then run the knife once more along the cuts you made earlier and remove each piece carefully.
- Immediately after pouring the syrup over the baklava, you can optionally top it with more nuts and rose petals for a pretty look.
Notes
Helpful tips
- Cover filo pastry sheets with a damp kitchen towel once they are out of the package. Keep remaining sheets covered as you layer them on. This will keep the filo from drying out and tearing.
- Lift the sheets carefully by their edges to prevent tears. But if the filo does tear when you pick it up, don't panic. Just layer it on as best as you can, brush with oil or butter, and layer on the next sheet.
- Make sure you pour the sugar syrup evenly over the baked baklava, taking care to cover all corners and the center. Let it cool thoroughly before eating.
- Nut-free. Use pumpkin seeds and/or melon seeds for the filling and chop them in a food processor, as you would the nuts. You can also add dry fruits, including dates and apricots, to the filling.
- Gluten-free. You can buy gluten-free phyllo pastry sheets, made with rice starch and rice flour, at many U.S. supermarkets.
- Sugar-free. Make the sugar syrup with stevia. If using a cup-by-cup replacer like Stevia in the Raw you can simply replace the sugar with the same quantity of stevia. If using other types of stevia follow package directions for the correct substitution amounts.
- Refrigerate: Store baklava in the fridge for up to two weeks.
- Freeze: Place baklava in an airtight container and freeze up to four months. Thaw before eating.
Nutrition
Serving: 1piece | Calories: 127kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Sodium: 67mg | Potassium: 52mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 1mg