Hellllllllo sweet and flakey goodness! This delicacy reminds me of a handheld pecan pie but dare I say…better? You decide!
Inspiration
This meal was truly inspired by my love for baklava and desire to make it free of honey! I have always had an affinity for baklava. The rich sweetness of the nuts sandwiched in between the crunchy pleasure of phyllo dough is heavenly and I have to practice a lot of self-restraint to not eat an entire batch in one go. It really is that good.
How to make Flaky Vegan Baklava
This recipe is:
Crunchy
Flaky
Rich
& Sweet
Make the nut filling
The filling for this sweet and crunchy delight is a mix of walnuts, pistachios, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Begin by chopping the nuts in a food processor or blender until coarse. Try not to over-process or over-blend it, as you want a decent amount of texture and chunkiness. Transfer this to a large bowl and toss it in the brown sugar and cinnamon.
Assemble the baklava
Time to whip out that baking dish! Brush the melted coconut oil over the baking dish to grease it and prevent the dough from sticking. You can use any size baking dish you’d like, but you might have to cut the dough accordingly. If this is the case, don’t throw away the scraps as they can still be used! Use the scraps to patch together a layer somewhere in the middle of the dough bunches.
Begin by laying down the phyllo dough one sheet at a time, followed by a generous brush of the melted coconut oil. Repeat this until you have 8 layers of dough brushed with oil. After you have put down 8 sheets of dough, pour half of the nut mixture into the pan and spread it evenly over the dough. Apply another sheet of dough brushed with coconut oil and repeat this until you have 6 layers of dough. Pour the rest of the filling onto the 6th sheet and spread evenly. Finish it off by adding 8 more layers of dough and oil to the pan.
8 layers of phyllo dough brushed with oil
Half of the nut mixture
6 layers of phyllo dough brushed with oil
Half of the nut mixture
8 layers of phyllo dough brushed with oil
Slice & bake
Before you toss it in the oven, cut the dough into the desired size pieces. Place it in the oven that’s been preheated to 350°F, and bake for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes is up, remove it from the oven, cover it with foil, and bake for another 30 minutes.
Make the syrup
While the baklava is cooking, it’s the perfect time to make the syrup topping. This syrup is made from a sweet agreement between brown sugar, agave, cinnamon, and water. Add all of these ingredients to a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Once it boils, quickly reduce it to a simmer and allow it to reduce for about 10-15 minutes. This will make the syrup more concentrated, thick and sticky – similar to how honey would behave in this recipe. This syrup is going to soak into the crunchy layers of the phyllo dough and create a texture that’s unbelievably satisfying. After reduction, remove the syrup from the heat and set it aside.
Pour the syrup
After the hour of baking is complete, take the baklava out of the oven and remove the foil. Follow up by pouring the syrup evenly over the baklava. Allow at least two hours of soak time before digging in. This will ensure that the syrup has sufficient time to soak into the layers and crystalize. That’s it! An absolute delicacy.
Serving
Serve this bad boy garnished with chopped pistachios or walnuts.
Storing
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week!
If you tried this recipe, please let me know how it turned out!
🤎 M
Flaky Vegan Baklava
Ingredients
Baklava:
- 1 package 16 oz phyllo dough
- 10 oz walnuts
- 4 oz pistachios
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ⅓-½ cup melted coconut oil for brushing
Syrup:
- ½ cup brown sugar
- â…” cups water
- ½ cup agave
- ½ tsp cinnamon
Instructions
Assemble
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- In a blender or food processor, chop the walnuts and pistachios into small pieces. Combine the nuts with the brown sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl.
- Brush melted coconut oil over a baking dish(You may use whatever size baking dish you’d like/have on hand, but you may have to cut the phyllo dough accordingly. Do not discard the scraps, you will still be able to utilize them).
- Place a single sheet of phyllo dough in the baking dish and brush with more coconut oil. Repeat laying down the dough and brushing it with coconut oil until you have 8 layers of dough brushed with oil in the pan.
- Pour half the nut mixture into the pan and spread it evenly over the dough.
- Apply another layer of dough followed by oil and repeat this until you have 6 layers of dough.
- Add the rest of the nut mixture to the pan and spread evenly.
- Apply 8 more layers of dough brushed with oil to the pan.
Slice & Bake
- Slice the dough into desired size pieces
- Bake for 30 minutes. Cover with foil and bake for an additional 30 minutes(1 hour total).
Make the Syrup
- While it’s baking, make the syrup by adding all the ingredients to a sauce pan and bring it to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes until the syrup reduces.
- When the baklava is done baking, remove the foil and even pour the syrup over the top.
- Allow the baklava to sit and soak up the syrup for at least an hour or two
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Don’t throw away your scraps! You can combine extra dough scraps to create an extra dough layer. I recommend doing this somewhere in the middle to retain structure.
- Substitutions:
- Agave: maple syrup
- Coconut oil: plant-based butter
