This vegan baklava is made with layers of flaky phyllo pastry stuffed with a sweet nutty filling. Top it off with spiced syrup and an optional chocolate drizzle for a decadent treat that you'll absolutely love!
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup organic granulated sugar
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 1 cinnamon stick (Note 1)
- 4 whole cloves (Note 2)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 8 ounces shelled walnuts (Note 3)
- 8 ounces shelled hazelnuts (Note 3)
- ⅓ cup organic granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 16 ounces frozen phyllo pastry (Note 4), thawed
- 12 tablespoons melted vegan butter (plus more as needed, up to 16 tablespoons total)
- Chopped hazelnuts and walnuts
- ½ cup vegan chocolate chips, melted (Note 5)
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Stir the water and sugar together in a small saucepan, then stir in the maple syrup, cinnamon stick and cloves.
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Place the pot over medium heat. Stir the mixture to dissolve the sugar while it heats up.
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Bring the syrup to a boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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Remove the pot from heat. Remove the cinnamon stick and cloves, and stir in the lemon juice.
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Allow the syrup to cool while you work on the rest of the recipe.
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Place all filling ingredients into the bowl of a food processor fitted with an s-blade. (Note 6)
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Pulse the machine until the nuts are finely chopped and the ingredients are well-mixed.
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Preheat the oven to 325°F.
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Cut your stack of phyllo sheets in half, so that each half fits into a 9 x 13 baking dish. You may need to trim a bit extra from the edges of your sheets.
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Stack your cut phyllo sheets and cover the whole stack with a damp towel to prevent them from drying out.
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Lightly brush the bottom of your 9 x 13 inch baking pan with melted vegan butter. Remove the towel from your phyllo and remove the top sheet. Replace the towel to cover the rest of the stack.
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Arrange the sheet in the baking dish and lightly brush it with butter. Alternate layers of butter and phyllo until you're about a quarter of the way through your sheets (This was 9 sheets for me, as I had 36 half sheets total.)
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Evenly sprinkle a third of your filling over the top phyllo sheet.
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Continue layering phyllo sheets with melted butter, placing a layer of filling every time you get another quarter of the way through your phyllo. Finish the arrangement with phyllo, brushing the top sheet with butter.
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Use a sharp knife to cut the baklava into 16 rectangles (4 rows and 4 columns), then make diagonal cuts to cut each rectangle into 2 triangles. (Note 7)
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Place the baking dish into the oven and bake the baklava until it's golden brown on top, about 30 minutes.
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Place the baking dish on a cooling rack and immediately pour the syrup over the baklava.
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Let the baklava cool completely before removing the pieces from the pan.
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Optionally, drizzle the slices with melted chocolate and sprinkle them with chopped nuts.
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Serve.
- The cinnamon stick can be omitted or replaced with a pinch of ground cinnamon if needed.
- Whole cloves can be omitted or replaced with a pinch of ground cloves if needed.
- All walnuts or all hazelnuts can be used if desired. Pistachios or pecans can also be substituted for a portion or all of the nuts. Just make sure you're using 16 ounces of nuts total, in any combination!
- As always, check the ingredients to ensure that you're phyllo is vegan. Most brands are.
- Melt your chips in a double boiler or by placing them in a bowl and microwaving them in 20 second intervals, stirring well between intervals.
- If you don't have a food processor, chop the nuts very finely by hand, place them in a bowl, and stir in the remaining ingredients.
- You can cut your baklava into larger triangles, rectangles, or another shape if desired.