This Baklava Cake brings together two of my favorite desserts and tastes absolutely delicious. Made with a simple, one-bowl cake base and topped with layers of filo pastry with a filling of pistachios, this dessert is the perfect showstopper for your Eid table and is super easy to make.
If there’s one universally-loved dessert all across the Middle East (and beyond), it’s probably baklava. I haven’t met a person who does not enjoy eating Baklava, and why would they? It’s the perfect dessert. It’s crunchy, chewy, sweet, salt. It’s the perfect combination of flavors and textures all in one bite.
Anyone who knows me knows that I am an AVID baklava fan, and while I will let the experts make the original thing, you know I will go all out adding elements of baklava in regular desserts, like:
And now, we have the Baklava Cake. Made with a simple brown sugar cake base packed with nuts, this cake gets topped with layers of filo pastry and crushed pistachios to bring in that delicious baklava flavor.
The best part? It’s simple enough for an absolute kitchen novice. No special equipment, no fancy techniques. Just a simple cake that will impress everyone in the room.
Now let’s get into the recipe.
Cake Base
The cake is made with a super simple one-bowl recipe and uses a combination of brown and white sugar for a deeper flavor. It’s also jam-packed with a combination of chopped nuts for that added baklava flavor.
Here are the steps for making the cake.
- In a bowl, add the flour, cinnamon powder, baking powder, salt, and sliced pistachios and walnuts and whisk until combined. Add both brown and white sugar and mix again. You can use any combination of nuts that you like.
- Now add the egg, milk, and vanilla and whisk until fully combined, then add melted butter and mix again until you have a smooth batter.
- Pour the cake batter in a prepared springform pan and let it chill in the fridge for 15 minutes to set the top.
Baklava Topping
The baklava topping is made with layers of filo pastry filled with crushed nuts. Once the cake batter is set, the filo layers are placed on top and then baked.
- Cut filo pastry sheets into a circle the size of your cake pan.
- Make the nut filling by grinding nuts of your choice with cinnamon. Make sure they are a little coarse and not too powdery.
- Once the cake batter is set on top, place one filo sheet on it, brush with a generous amount of melted butter, then top with the nut filling. Make sure to add the filling only in the center and leave a sides empty to help stick the next filo pastry sheet.
- Add another layer of filo and repeat the process, then top with a final layer of filo pastry and brush with butter on top. Don’t add more than three layers of filo or they will not bake properly.
- Bake the cake on 160 degrees Celsius for 40-45 minutes, low and slow so that both the cake and filo pastry can bake properly.
- At the end of the baking time, switch on the top broiler for 5-7 minutes until the filo pasta turns golden brown. Keep an eye on it as it can burn easily.
- The top pastry sheet might curl up, in that case just shatter the filo sheet to create a fun topping. You can also keep it as it is.
- As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, top it with a generous amount of sugar syrup. Let the cake cool down for at least an hour before removing from the cake pan and serve fresh.
- If serving the cake after a few hours, the filo pastry might get soft. In that case, place it in the oven under the broiler for 3-5 minutes until they crisp up.
This is really one of those desserts that everyone will love and takes very little effort, perfect for your Eid gathering!
Ready to get started? Let’s go!
PS: I always measure ingredients in grams, never in cups. Using a measuring scale is the only way to bake accurately. Cups are unreliable and can give different measurements, so I suggest you buy a measuring scale before you start baking! If you can’t get your hands on one, you can use the online tools for converting grams into cups; however, I do not guarantee their accuracy.
Baklava Cake
Equipment
- 7” springform pan
- Handwhisk
- Pastry brush
Ingredients
Cake
- 250 grams all-purpose flour
- 65 grams granulated white sugar
- 65 grams brown sugar
- 10 grams baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- 15 grams chopped pistachios
- 15 grams chopped walnuts
- 1/4 th tsp salt
- 250 ml full-fat milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 75 grams butter melted
Baklava Topping
- 3 filo pastry sheets defrosted
- 200 grams butter melted
- 50 grams pistachios
- 50 grams walnuts
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
Sugar Syrup
- 500 ml water
- 350 ml granulated white sugar
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 160 degree Celsius. Prepare a 7 inch springform pan by greasing with butter and dusting with flour to make sure the cake does not stick to the pan.
- In a bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and the nuts – flour, white sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon powder salt, chopped pistachios, and walnuts with a hand whisk.250 grams all-purpose flour, 65 grams granulated white sugar, 65 grams brown sugar, 10 grams baking powder, 1 tsp cinnamon powder, 15 grams chopped pistachios, 15 grams chopped walnuts, 1/4 th tsp salt
- Now add the milk, eggs, and vanilla essence, and whisk until well combined250 ml full-fat milk, 1 large egg, 1 tsp vanilla essence
- Finally, drizzle the melted butter into the cake batter while whisking it in. Keep whisking until all the butter has been added and incorporated into the batter.75 grams butter
- Transfer the cake batter to the prepared pan and let it chill in the fridge for 10 minutes to set the top of the cake.
Baklava Topping
- While the cake is chilling, prepare the filo pastry by cutting each sheet into a round circle the same size as your cake pan.3 filo pastry sheets
- Make the nut filling: Place the pistachios, walnuts, cinnamon, and salt in a food processor and blend until they form small crumbs. Don’t blend them to a powder, keep them roughly chopped.50 grams pistachios, 50 grams walnuts, 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- Layer the filo pastry: Place one sheet of filo on top of the cake batter, then brush it generously with melted butter. Make sure all the corners are covered in butter. Add 2-3 spoons of the nut filling on top of the butter and evenly spread it across the filo pastry, leaving a little space on the edges. Place the second layer of filo pastry on top and repeat the process. Finish with another layer of filo brushed with melted butter.200 grams butter
- Bake the cake for 40-45 minutes until the cake is fully cooked. At the end of the baking time, turn on the top broiler of the oven and cook until the filo pastry becomes golden brown. Keep an eye as it can burn easily. The top filo might curl up in process but don’t worry, you can shatter it to create a fun effect.
- Make the sugar syrup: While the cake is baking, make the sugar syrup. Add the water and sugar in a saucepan, don’t mix it as that may cause crystallization. Let the syrup cook on high heat until it starts boiling, then lower the heat and let it cook for 10 minutes until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.500 ml water, 350 ml granulated white sugar
- As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, pour 3-4 tablespoons of sugar syrup on top of the baklava. Let the cake cool down completely before removing it from the pan.
- If serving after. a few hours, place the cake under the broiler for 3-5 minutes to crisper the filo pastry sheets.
Notes
I really hope you give this recipe a try for your Eid gatherings! If you do, let me know how you liked it in the comments. And of course, share it with me on Instagram.
If you’re looking for more Eid recipes, you can check them out here.
Until next time!
