All About Baklava

What is Baklava? 

There is nothing more sweet, rich, and flaky than Baklava, a traditional dessert of the Middle East. The history behind baklava dates back 1,300 years to the time of the Assyrian Empire when it was either unleavened bread topped with local nuts or honey-covered bread drenched in honey. It was not until the 15th century that baklava gained greater sophistication in the Ottoman Empire.

 With time, many Middle Eastern countries created different variations of baklava by changing the types of nuts, adding chocolate drizzles, or adding rosewater. In addition, some cooks made several twists to the baklava recipes. For example, Baklava Cookies, Baklava Cheesecake, Baklava Twists, etc. In traditional baklavas, however, there are four essential ingredients: phyllo (or filo) sheets, honey mixed with spices and juices, nuts, and butter. Baklava is made by brushing the phyllo sheets with butter, followed by layers of nuts and spices. Finally, a sweet honey-based sugar syrup is added to be soaked into the stacked layers.

Sarkis Pastry Baklavas

At Sarkis Pastry, we offer two types of baklavas: baklava with our homemade dough or with ready-made phyllo dough. Our homemade dough baklavas are one of our best-sellers and we offer 6 different kinds.

 Finger Baklava

Our tasty and delicious finger baklava are made with layers of finely hand rolled dough and ground cashews.

Diamond Baklava

Layers of our special hand made dough stuffed with chopped walnuts and sweetened with syrup. 

Swar Baklava

A layer of our our famous dough rolled and baked to a prefect crunch. Topped with ground pistachios.

Almond Baklava

Rectangular-shaped layers of our hand made dough stuffed with chopped almonds and sweetened with syrup.

Mini Rose Baklava (Kol-wa-Shkor)

Each piece is individually folded with cashew filling and sweetened with syrup.

Birds Nest Baklava

Layers of flaky hand rolled dough folded around fresh ground walnuts and sweetened with sugar syrup. 

Storing and freezing baklava

 If you want to store baklava, make sure to cover it and keep it at room temperature. Baklava will keep its texture best if you store it at room temperature, rather than in the refrigerator. This will help the baklava stay fresh for 5-7 days. 

You can also freeze baklava for up to 3 months! Just make sure you wrap it well in several layers of plastic wrap and then thaw it in the refrigerator or at room temperature.