Yesterday the weather finally felt like fall. It was crisp but sunny with a little breeze rustling dead leaves that have fallen around the yard. I just couldn't stay inside so I took a slice of Chocolate Baklava and headed out.
Fall always reminds me of sticky sweet treats like candied apples, gooey caramel, and now Chocolate Baklava. Layers of chewy filo dough encapsulated in honey and butter, layered with pistachios and dark chocolate chips.
It’s that simple and that good.
{Hand lettering & photos by Freutcake}
Chocolate baklava- recipe adapted from here & here
Honey syrup
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
¾ cup honey
juice of half a lemon
1 vanilla pod
1 cinnamon stick
Baklava
1 stick melted butter
1 package phyllo pastry (20 sheets cut to the size of your pan)
10 oz dark chocolate chips chopped
8 oz unsalted pistachios chopped finely
1 tbs powdered cinnamon
Directions:
1. Combine the syrup ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to boil. Let the syrup simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes. Discard vanilla pod and cinnamon stick and allow the syrup to cool.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine finely chopped nuts, cinnamon, and chocolate chips in a bowl. (You may want to pulse nuts in a food processor to finely chop)
3. Unroll package of phyllo dough; cut phyllo sheets to fit the size of your pan. Discard scraps. Cover with a damp towel to prevent phyllo sheets from drying out.
4. Butter a 9x13" baking pan and then, working with one phyllo sheet at a time, butter and stack 8 sheets of phyllo. (*brush sheets of phyllo with a pastry brush and melted butter)
5. Spread half of nut mixture evenly over layered phyllo sheets.
6. Brush next phyllo sheet on both sides with butter, then place on top of nuts. Add 3 more phyllo sheets, brushing each one with butter, and then top with the remaining nut and chocolate mixture.
7. Brush next phyllo sheet on both sides with butter, then place on top of nuts. Add 7 more phyllo sheets, brushing each one with butter.
8. Using a sharp knife, cut baklava into 12 squares. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes, first 20 minutes uncovered, the cover with aluminium foil, to prevent it from browning too much.
9. Immediately pour the cold syrup over the hot baklava and let stand until completely cool, preferably overnight uncovered.
Jess says
Oh my word. This beauty made me cry a little bit. I love the layer-y-ness of it and the filling looks AMAZING. Why aren't we neighbors yet, Leah?
freutcake says
Thanks Jess! This was my first attempt at layer-y-baklava-ness so it will hopefully be a little prettier next time. 🙂 Seriously though, why are we not neighbors??
Gloria says
This looks SO good! Drooling on my keyboard over here!
freutcake says
Uh oh. My chocolate baklava owes you a new keyboard! 😉
Kelsey @ K&K Test Kitchen says
This is gorgeous Leah!! And it actually doesn't sound as intimidating to make as I expected baklava to be!
freutcake says
Thanks Kelsey! Yes, it is an easy process as long as you get the hang of brushing the filo quickly with butter, layering and repeating. It's actually pretty fun!
Gaby [The Vault Files] says
Oh Leah, this looks amazing! I love baklava and I'm sure I'll try this 🙂
freutcake says
Wish I could send you some! 😉 Let me know if you try it.
Michelle says
Do you need my mailing address? LOL
freutcake says
Haha! I wish I could send samples to all my readers. 😉
Lisa says
Holy moly. I love baklava, but I always wondered what it would taste like with chocolate, since I'm such a chocoholic and want it in everything. I can't wait to try this!!
freutcake says
This was my first time trying chocolate baklava but it seems like a natural fit! Honey, chocolate, cinnamon and pistachios all mix well together.
Alli says
Never had baklava but you make want to try it. This looks delish.
freutcake says
If you like sticky sweet desserts, and nuts, you will love baklava! 🙂
Ami says
I personally love dark chocolate but my family prefers semi-sweet. Can I use semi-sweet chips instead of dark chocolate?
freutcake says
You can use semi-sweet chips however due to the amount of sugar and honey that is in this recipe, I would stick to dark chocolate. It's already very sweet without the addition of a sweeter chocolate.
Lane Culpepper says
I've had some amazing baklava, but never chocolate! I think this will be my new favorite.
Amanda @ Once Upon a Recipe says
Oh my. Baklava is one of my favorite treats and now you've gone and added chocolate, one of my other favorite treats. I just might faint.
lynn @ the actor's diet says
i've been so excited for this!
freutcake says
Haha thanks Lynn!
Two Chums says
Oh this looks yummy Leah.....butter, honey, flaky filo AND chocolate....how could this be bad? 🙂
Anna @ IHOD says
Drooling. Beautiful styling as always!
ashley says
this looks so amazing!! i'm new to the blog, but excited to follow along xo
freutcake says
Hi Ashley, so happy you found my blog! Welcome. 🙂
Teresa says
This sounds great! I'm wondering if I could use pecans in place of the pistachios though.
freutcake says
Hi Teresa,
I'm sure you can but it won't have the typical baklava flavor. I think pecans might make it taste more like a pecan pie!