Baklava Rolls

A simple to follow Lebanese dessert recipe for homemade walnut Baklava Rolls also commonly known as Baklava fingers or Baklava cigars.

Walnut Baklava

Baklava, pronounced baklawa in Arabic, is a delicious pastry made with phyllo dough, ground nuts, butter and a sweet syrup made with either sugar or honey.

Many different Baklava recipes exist throughout the mediterranean region and the Middle-East. Depending on what your preference is, you can make it with ground walnuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios or even a combination of these nuts.

You can also find Baklava in different formats, some are made rolled like cigars or fingers (like in this recipe) while others make them by layering phyllo sheets and the nut mixture in a baking pan and portioning the tray into individual servings that they cut diagonally into diamond shapes.

The recipe I'm sharing with you today is for rolled walnut baklava fingers.

To prepare for the festive season, my mother and I often bake together which I always find such a treat since she always makes such delicious desserts.

This recipe makes a lot of Baklava (about 100 pieces), but you can easily divide the ingredients in half if you want to make a smaller quantity.

Or make the full recipe and store some in the freezer to have for special occasions. Baklawa really is a perfect dessert to make ahead and freeze.

How to Make Baklava Rolls

Though making Baklava rolls at home isn't difficult, it is time consuming. There are a few steps that can be done ahead of time that will speed up the process.

You'll have a lot of Baklava if you end up making this recipe in full. Remember that you can make a smaller batch by dividing the recipe in half. You'll still have about 50 individual baklava pieces.

Here's an overview of the ingredients used in this Baklava, please see the recipe card at the end of the post for amounts needed.

Ingredients Overview:

• Phyllo pastry 
• Unsalted butter 
• Walnuts. For best flavor, walnuts should be lightly toasted before chopping. For pistachio baklava, use unsalted shelled pistachio nuts.
• Granulated sugar
• Water
• Orange blossom water 
• Lemon juice

Steps Overview:

• The simple sugar syrup can be made ahead of time and stored at room temperature. To make the syrup, combine the water, sugar and lemon juice. Bring it to a boil and then lower the heat and let it simmer for about twenty minutes or until the syrup thickens. Add the orange blossom water, stir and set it aside the hot syrup to cool.
• You can also toast the raw walnuts, let them cool and chop them coarsely in your food processor ahead of time.
• To make the nut filling, combine the walnuts with granulated sugar, water and orange blossom water. Mix well and set the nut mixture aside.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. You will need to return the remaining butter to the heat as you work to keep it from solidifying.
• While you melt the butter, you can unfold one package of phyllo dough. Take two phyllo dough sheets together and roll them, repeat for every 2 sheets in package and stack them. Cover the stack with a clean plastic bag and then a tea towel. Make sure your unused dough rolls remain covered while you work so they don't dry up.
• Take one roll of phyllo and unroll it so that it lays flat on the counter or clean surface. You will be working with the wider side. Using a pastry brush, brush the top layer of phyllo dough evenly with melted butter. Spoon about 6 tablespoons of the walnut mixture evenly along the edge (closest to you) of the phyllo dough, leaving a one inch border. Fold dough over once to cover the nuts and then proceed to roll the dough around the nuts until the end (like a cigar). Make sure to roll the baklava as tightly as possible without breaking it.

Below is a picture (of my original post) that shows you how to lay out the phyllo dough and nuts as you prepare to roll it. It can take some practice to roll it using the longer side of the phyllo sheet.

If you find it too difficult, you can lay the nuts on the shorter end of the phyllo sheet and roll it from that end. It's easier to control the tightness of the rolls that way.

• Once rolled, place the roll seam down and using a sharp knife portion it into approximately 6 even pieces. Move the cut pieces (again seam down) onto the baking sheet. Repeat this process until you have filled your baking tray with baklava.
• Brush the cut pieces of baklava with the melted clarified butter and then bake for approximately 22-25 minutes, until golden and crisp.
• Remove from oven and brush the hot baklava rolls with melted butter one more time.
• Cool baklava on baking sheet for a few minutes, then submerge them in the prepared simple syrup. Turn the pieces to coat well with syrup, and then move the syrupy baklava into a colander to drain excess syrup.

How to Store

Cover homemade Baklava with plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to a week or in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Luckily Baklava freezes well for up to 3 months. Place Baklava in an airtight container with wax paper in between the layers. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

Enjoy!

More Middle-Eastern Recipes

• Kafta Kebabs
• Tabbouleh (Parsley Salad)
• Fattoush Salad (Pita Bread Salad)
• Hummus
• Biscotta (Jam and Nut Bars)

Rolled Baklava Recipe

Author: Fida | Sweet and Savoury Pursuits

A simple to follow homemade recipe for delicious walnut stuffed Middle-Eastern rolled baklava.

4.89 from 9 votes

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Prep Time 1 hr 20 mins

Cook Time 22 mins

Total Time 1 hr 42 mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine Middle-Eastern

Servings 100 pieces

Calories 161 kcal

Ingredients

  

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Ingredients for the Baklava:

• 2 lbs. phyllo pastry thawed
• 1 pound of unsalted butter melted
• 8 cups walnuts lightly toasted and ground to a medium texture
• 1-1/4 cups of granulated sugar
• ¼ cup water to moisten nuts and sugar
• 1 tsp. orange blossom water more to taste

For the syrup:

• 3 cups of water
• 4 cups of sugar
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. orange blossom water

Instructions

 

For the Sugar Syrup:

•  In a large saucepan, combine water, sugar and lemon juice.
• Bring to a boil and then simmer for approximately 20 minutes until syrup thickens, add the orange blossom water and stir. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

For the Filling:

•  To make the filling, process the walnuts in a food processor using the pulse method until they are medium ground.
• In a large bowl, combine the chopped walnuts, sugar, water and orange blossom water until blended; set mixture aside.

To assemble and bake the Baklava:

• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. You will need to return the butter to the heat as you work to keep it from solidifying.
• Start with unfolding one package of phyllo dough. Take two phyllo sheets together and roll them, repeat for every 2 sheets in package and stack them. Cover the stack with a clean plastic bag and then a tea towel. Make sure your unused dough rolls remain covered while you work.
• Take one roll of phyllo and unroll it so that it lays flat on the counter. You will be working with the wider side. Brush the phyllo dough evenly with melted butter.
• Spoon about 6 tablespoons of the walnut mixture evenly along the edge (closest to you) of the phyllo dough, leaving a one inch border.
• Fold dough over once to cover the nuts and then proceed to roll the dough around the nuts until the end (like a cigar). Make sure to roll the baklava as tightly as possible without breaking it.
• Once rolled, place seam down and portion it into approximately 6 even pieces.
• Move the cut pieces (again seam down) onto the baking sheet. Repeat process until you have a full sheet of baklava.
• Brush the cut pieces of baklava with the melted butter and then bake for approximately 22-25 minutes, until golden and crisp.
• Remove from oven and brush baklava with butter one more time. Cool baklava on baking sheet for a few minutes, then submerge them in the prepared syrup. Turn pieces to coat well with syrup, and then move them into a colander to drain excess syrup.
• Repeat this process until all phyllo dough and ground nuts are used.
• Optional: Before serving, sprinkle a bit of ground unsalted pistachio nuts above each piece of baklava. Store the baklava in an airtight container for up to 10 days.

Notes

1. To toast the walnuts, heat oven to 350°F. Spread walnuts on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, stirring nuts once after 5 minutes. Let cool.
2. Orange Blossom Water can be found in Middle-Eastern grocery stores.
3. Baklava can be frozen. To store baklava, place a sheet of wax paper between the layers of baklava in your container. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for about 4 hours before serving.

 

Nutrition

Calories: 161kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 2gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 9mgSodium: 45mgPotassium: 49mgSugar: 10gVitamin A: 115IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 11mgIron: 0.6mg

Keyword Baklava, Baklava Fingers, Baklawa, Lebanese Sweet, Rolled Baklava Recipe, Walnut Baklava

Tried this recipe? Have any questions, comments or suggestions? Leave a comment below!Mention @sweetandsavourypursuits or tag #sweetandsavourypursuits!

This post has been updated with new pictures and new content.

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