bake a bakla — pistachio baklava cake
I love Baklava—the Greek, Turkish, Lebanese rich, sweet pastry made of layers of phyllo dough filled with nuts and sweetened with syrup. Something about it just grabs me, which is surprising since I usually don’t like very sweet pastries. Perhaps it’s the subtle scent of rose water infused in the syrup or the gossamer layers of phyllo dough. Maybe it’s the baker’s fascination with the amount of liquid that Baklava can absorb. It could be the oozing of syrup in your mouth when you bite into the once crispy, but then chewy pastry layer with the earthy nut filling.
Every time when I go to Kaluystan’s for spices, I can’t help but be seduced by their array of Baklava from many regions. As I pay for my purchase, I always treat myself to a piece (maybe two, or three). As long as there’s a pistachio filling, or a mix of it with other nuts, I’m game for a new variation.
I’ve often thought of making baklava, but hadn’t worked out the right approach. So after my recent trip (2 weeks ago), I went to work on my own version. As much as I love it, it is hard to eat more than a couple small pieces without sugar overloading. I wanted to make a version that allowed me to eat more than just a small portion to satisfy my craving—and not go into a sugar coma.
The result is a tender pistachio cake doused with the orange/rose water syrup. Discs of baklava with pistachio filling are used as if they were frosting for the cake. If you like baklava or love pistachio as much as I do, this cake saves a trip to Kaluystan’s.
Pistachio Baklava Cake
Ingredients:
Pistachio Cake
- 2 cup Panko or regular bread crumbs (about 4 ounces)
- 1 cup pistachio, whole and roasted
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 3/4 cup (5-1/4 ounces) granulated sugar
- 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
Bakalva Layer
- 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
- 16 sheets of phyllo pastry
- 1 cups pistachio,toasted and ground
Orange-scented Syrup
- 1 cups (5 ounces) of granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3/4 cup water
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 1/4 teaspoon rose water
- 1/2 teaspoon orange flower water
Assembly
- Pistachio Cake layers
- Baklava layers
- Orange-scented syrup
- 1-1/2 cups pistachios, toasted and ground
Directions:
Pistachio Cake
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350℉. Butter two 6-by-2-inch round cake pans; line each with a circle of parchment paper. Butter paper, and dust pans with flour; tap out excess. Set aside.
2. In a mini food processor, add panko, pistachio, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Process until finely chopped, set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk eggs and sugar until thick and pale, about 5 minutes. The mixture should fall in a ribbon rather than a stream. Gently fold in nut mixture by hand with the whisk attachment. Add melted butter in a slow stream and fold into the batter with a rubber spatula.
4. Divide batter into the prepared pans and bake until cake tester inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. Cool cake on wire rack for 10 minutes, remove cake from pan and set it on cooling rack. Generously brush syrup on the top and sides of cake, let cool completely. Wash cake pans, to be used in baklava layers.
Bakalva Layer
1. Fold phyllo sheets in half along the long edge. Use cake pan as template and cut out 8-inch circles, roughly 1-inch wider than the pan on all sides. (Circles do not have to be perfect.) Cover phyllo with damp towel.
2. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350℉. Brush two 6-by-2-inch round cake pans with melted butter. Place one sheet of phyllo in one pan and fold in edges to fit the pan. Brush with melted butter. Continue this layering and brushing until you have 8 layers of pastry.
3. Scatter ground pistachio over the pastry and continue the layering and buttering for 8 more layers. Repeat process with the second pan. Place pan in oven and bake until golden brown and crisp on top. about 30-35 minutes. Remove pan from oven and slowly drizzle 1/4 cup of syrup into each pan. Set aside to cool completely.
4. While baklava layers are baking, roughly tear/chop up leftover phyllo into shards and brush generously with butter. Spread pastry shards on parchment lined baking sheet. When baklava are done, place baking pan in oven and baking until golden brown, about 18-25 minutes. (Keep a close eye towards the end to avoid burning of pastry.)
Orange-scented Syrup
1. Combine sugar, honey, water and lemon juice in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer until slightly thicken, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
2. Stir rose and orange flower water to cool syrup. Add more, a few drops at a time, to taste. (Flavor will mellow out after it sits for a while.)
Assembly
1. Level top of the cakes with serrated knife to remove indent in the center of cake. Place one cake layer on cake stand or plate, brush top of cake generously with syrup. Place a layer of baklava on top of cake, brush top of baklava layer with syrup if it’s not sticky and top with second cake layer. Brush with more syrup and top with second baklava layer.
2. Brush baklava layer with more syrup to make it sticky. Decorate top with baklava shards, press slightly to make sure they adhere to cake.
3. Brush side of cake with syrup and apply ground pistachio evenly on the side of cake, pressing lightly to adhere. Sprinkle top of cake with more ground pistachio if desire. Serve.
Note: double the recipe for a 8 or 9-inch cake
What a unique idea! Gorgeous pics.
I adore baklava and love your take on it and presenting it as a cake. Pistachios are my favorite nuts too – this my friend is a very elegant looking dessert! Simply stunning Ken. Also your shots are gorgeous!
Wow. This is a work of art! Beautiful. Creative. And I bet it’s spectacularly delicious.
OMG – the photos are stunning and what a fabulous take on Baklava!
What a gorgeous, elegant take on baklava! Fabulous, Ken!!
This is a work of art, Ken. When are you going to open a bakery already?!
Lovely idea, gorgeous cake!
What an amazing cake! Such a lovely and creative take on baklava.
Classic baklava is such a great pastry dessert and the taste is heavenly. Your pistachio twist on this classic is awesome. Not only is the flavor intriguing, but the presentation is stunning. Well done!
Are you KIDDING me??? This looks AMAZING! I can’t wait to try this…we just had regular baklava with ice cream for dessert last night (I can’t take credit for it’s deliciousness; I didn’t make it).
What a great combination and a pretty presentation. Kudos!
Brilliant! I grew up eating and making the Greek version of baklava. Somewhere along the way I lost my taste for it and began exploring other decadent sweets. Though this bakla pistachio version has me a little weak in the knees at the moment. I love everything about this post, the writing, the photos and the recipe.
This looks phenomenal! What a gorgeous invention this is :)
This is a masterpiece!! I love your creation!!!! Great job
I had no idea that baklava could get any better than it already was… I think you may have topped an all time favorite of mine!
Wow, wow, wow…that is incredible, Ken–those textures and authentic colours. Um, okay one more: Wow! That is one of the most gorgeous cakes I have ever seen, and I mean that from the bottom of my cake-loving heart. Unreal. The photos are also outstanding! xo
Another gorgeous treat! The layers and textures look divine, not to mention all the scrumptious flavors. Incredible!
Gorgeous clicks Ken and a very gorgeous cake!
Ken, you are absolutely crazy! Crazy talented! Everything you make is stunning to look at and I’ll bet even better to eat. Delicious and creative. Boy, I wish we were neighbors! Gorgeous cake.
I’m back. Yes, I’m stalking this post, Ken. I love it. I love it! I needed a beautiful cake-fix this morning, so here I am. Okay, off I go. Again. :)
I agree with everything everyone above said! This is one of the most incredible looking cakes I’ve ever seen.
You are incredibly talented. And inspiring!
What a divine Baklava Pistacchio cake! I am inspired to try it. Thanks for sharing the recipe. I hope mine comes out as divine looking as yours, Ken!
OH MY GOSH!!! This dessert can only be describes as STUNNING! pistachio orange? Genius! You are so very talented!
OMG Ken this is AWESOME! I don’t even like baklava all that much and I want this cake! Ah if only you lived in London (or I lived in NY)…. ;)
I was visiting Meeta this weekend and she was discussing how your photos have improved since Plate to Page and she mentioned the shots of this gorgeous baklava specifically… Now I understand why.. I want some of that and the photos are stunning Ken!
Oh my goodness… This is amazing! Baklava is definitely one of my weaknesses. I just love it. Can’t wait to give this a try. And, stunning photos, too!
Oh my word. I adore baklava and I ADORE this beauty of a cake. I know you’re in Vegas and are rockin’ the town. I just wanted to say “ciao” and check out your latest deliciousness. xo
Gasp. Full stop! …but srsly you know I can’t I got to go on and praise this cake & such a nice twist on the classic mediterranean dessert!!
Ken, this is just stunningly beautiful!!!
Ken, this cake looks wonderful. I;m sure it tastes as good too!
One question, for the cake it says 1 cup of pistachio. Is that ground? Chopped, whole or paste? I’d love to make the cake, but I’m wondering about the pistachio.
Hi Robyn, thanks for pointing that out, I’ve clarified in the recipe. it’s whole pistachios and get chopped in the processor. Enjoy.
Oh thank you Ken. I’m such a huge fan of pistachios I;m certain this cake will become a lifelong favorite.
This is truly AMAZING! Way to go!!!
I’m in love with pistachios. Add rosewater? = my new fav recipe.
Wow, this is beautiful! And what unique recipe and no flour in the cake and 2 c of panko? I am really curious to try this! This will be a special occasion cake for sure!
One word – stunning! I wish I was a baker. But I adore baklava and this makes me drool. Totally pinning this on my Food Porn board at Pinterest….like porn nice to look at but I am never going to “do it” in real life.
Baklava is almost the only sweet dessert I love (almond horns made with home made almond paste) is the other. Thank you for this recipe!
What fantastic photos! It was fun just looking at those photos but you enticed me to try this recipe. I also like pistachio.
Greece speaking here!
I love the modern way presented this traditional sweet pie…
One of my favorite when christmas comes..!
This looks stunning — bet it was divine!
Hello from Canada. I am an Iranian baklava lover and it runs in my blood.
This is an amazing piece of art you have created and my hat goes off to you.
However baklava is neither Greek nor Arabic or east European. It is an Azeri pastry from Azerbaijan. Not the country we now know, but a large region in ancient central Asia between the countries known today as Turkey, Russia, Iraq & Iran. Azeri race is an ancient one living tribal. They had their own language and adapted Persian alphabet to write. Due to so much invasion of this area through history by many different countries, their cuisine has inspired and been adapted by alot of countries such as Greece, Turkey, Russia alot of Arabic countries of the region and Iran. It is called BAghlavA in both Azeri and Persian. ;o)
Baklava ( /ˈbɑːkləvɑː/, /bɑːkləˈvɑː/,[1] or /bəˈklɑːvə/;[2] Ottoman Turkish: باقلوا) is a rich, sweet pastry made of layers of filo pastry filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey. It is characteristic of the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire and much of Central and Southwest Asia.
you can read the rest in wikipedia on your own ;o)
Thank you so much for introducing a brand new modern amazingly beautiful version of this historical sweet..
Hi! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe, I made it yesterday(for father’s day) and it was just as amazing as the photos. First, thank you for including the weights! It’s so much easier to bake! Second, I filled both 6″ rounds 2/3 full and had enough leftover for an 8″ round. (no complaints, it’s nice to have a bit to come home to!) Did I miss something? Looking forward to trying your other recipes!
Hi Rachel, thank you so much for visiting my blog. I’m glad you enjoyed the cake on such a special occasion. I wonder why you have extra batter. I’ll go over my notes and get back to you soon. -Ken
I have never seen a baklava cake before, I just know the small bites you get at a turkish buffet…. This cake looks amazing!
This cake is gorgeous and I can’t wait to try it out! The rosewater/orange flower water combo should be great! Could I replace the breadcrumbs with all-purpose flour? I have a friend that is allergic to yeast….
Though not the same texture,I suppose you can try. Keep me posted on the result.
GORGEOUS!
Beautiful cake. I adore baklava so this has been repinned to my recipe to try board!
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I am thinking to make this. How did it go over? It looks beautiful but I am worried of how other people who are scared of baklava and pistachios will react. haha Have you made it since this first time?
Hi Crystal, it’s definitely not as sweet as a classic baklava, but if your friends and family don’t like pistachio, you might consider to bake a different cake for them. -Ken
I’m having difficulty finding a place that carries rose water or orange flower water… are there other alternatives? I’m sure the cake wouldn’t taste the same without them. suggestions?
Whole Foods or ethnic stores would have them. Try order online from http://www.kalustyans.com.
it is also armenian, bosnian, persian…
that’s one another reason why I love baklava; it is kind of an multinational sweet hug =)
I was about 14 when a New Persian girl moved into my school district: as luck would have it she lived only one street over from where I did…. We became friends and the day her Mother invited me over for dinner my whole world changed!!
Not only did she make the most amazing dill rice with a thin crunchy layer at the bottom if the giant pot used to make this rice that would last all week long; but I was served something I had never eaten before…..
Not a a lover of sweets I was totally blown away by what she told me was Baklava!!!! Being Persian her version was made entirely with pistachios…… and as I grew up and my awareness of other ethnic foods expanded – I have never been as satisfied as I was that sweet and long ago when I first tasted that ethereal Pistachio Baklava!!!
(I still can not eat the nauseatingly sweet Greek version served in most Greek restaurants)
What a great idea! I love turning classic desserts into something totally different but still maintaining the flavors. This is genius!