Best Vegan Baklava Recipe

Vegan baklava on a baking tray, sliced diagonally into diamond shapes with rose petals on top.

For the perfect baklava experience, achieve a delightful contrast by pouring cold syrup over hot baklava or hot syrup over cold baklava. This ensures a warm blend with syrup seeping in between the layers, followed by quick cooling.

Servings

Calories 140kcal

Author Zacchary Bird | The Vegan Baker

Ingredients

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon vegan butter (125g) or coconut oil, melted
13 oz vegan ﬁlo pastry (375g)
dried rose petals to serve (optional)

Nut Filling

2 cups pistachios (300g)
1 cup walnuts (100g)
½ brown sugar (100g)
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
large pinch of sea salt

Citrus Syrup

5-6 large oranges, lemons, limes or grapefruits or a mix
2 cups granulated white sugar (400g)

Instructions

Make the Citrus Syrup

Prepare the citrus syrup. Wash the fruit well, then slice off large strips of peel using a vegetable peeler (and avoiding too much of the white pith), until it has all been removed. Cut the peeled strips into thin slivers and add them to bowl of water as you go, to stop them browning
Add the granulated sugar and a cup (8 fl oz) of water to a saucepan and stir briefly to dissolve. Bring to a boil.
Drain the citrus zest, then add it to the boiling syrup and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes, swishing occasionally.
Strain the syrup and allow it to cool before transferring it to a clean, sealable jar and storing it in the fridge.

Prepare the Filling

Put the nut filling ingredients in a food processor and pulse into a rough rubble. Place the butter or coconut oil in a small saucepan over low heat and gently heat until mostly melted. Set aside.

Assemble Baklava

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Line a baking tray about the same size as your filo sheets with parchment paper and brush a little of the butter or oil over the paper.
When working with the filo pastry, either proceed quickly or cover with a scarcely damp tea towel to stop it drying out. Place a filo sheet on the baking tray and use a pastry brush to splatter a little of the butter or oil over the top. Brush to spread it out in an even layer, then repeat with eight more sheets of filo to create your base layer.
Spread half the nut filling over the filo. As the number of sheets in a packet of filo can vary, count how many you have left. You will need ten sheets for the top layer, so use however many are remaining for your middle layer, repeating the buttering process. Top with the remaining nut filling.
Brush six sheets of filo with butter or oil and place over the final layer of nuts. Place two more sheets of filo over one half of the filling at a 90-degree angle, then brush with butter or oil and tuck the ends under the filled half of the pastry. Repeat with two more filo sheets on the other side.
Using a paring knife, and pressing down on the filo around the knife, diagonally score the baklava into diamonds, for ease of cutting later on. Delicately brush any remaining butter or oil over the top.
Transfer the tray to the oven and immediately reduce the oven temperature to 170°C (340°F). Bake for 40 minutes, or until the pastry is crisp and golden.
Remove the baklava from the oven and evenly pour 1 ⅔ cups of the cooled citrus syrup over the top. Bake for another 5 minutes, then remove from the oven again and allow to cool to room temperature.
Use a sharp knife to separate the baklava into diamonds for serving and scatter with dried rose petals, if desired. The baklava will keep in an airtight container on the benchtop for up to 2 weeks of glorious snacking.

Notes

Don't waste the citrus zest. After removing from the syrup, spread the zest on a wire rack on the benchtop to dry out for a full day. Once they’re no longer wet, toss the zest in 1/2 cup of caster sugar and store in an airtight jar. They’ll keep in the fridge for up to 3 months.

Nutrition