Baklava is a Turkish dessert made with layers of filo pastry (also known as phyllo pastry) and filled, usually, with pistachios and walnuts. A sweet syrup is drizzled over the Baklava after baking. I decided to change the traditional flavours and make Salted Caramel & Pecan Baklava. As it can be quite an overly sweet dessert due to the syrup, the addition of salt cut into it perfectly and makes these baklava incredibly moreish! The filo pastry is so beautifully crispy and golden, I love the crunch you get when you bite into it. I share all of my bakes with my family and friends, but I have to confess that this one has never left the house as we love it too much to share!
For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.
How to make Salted Caramel & Pecan Baklava
I started the by making the syrup. On a low heat in a pan I heated brown sugar, sea salt, water and maple syrup. Once the sugar is dissolved, let it boil for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour into a bowl and cool in the fridge.
For the filling I added pecans, light brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt into a food processor and pulsed them until they looked like a coarse crumb. Then I melted butter in a pan and stirred in light brown sugar until it dissolved.
In a deep sided baking tray I starting layering up the filo sheets, brushing the butter and sugar mixture between each layer. After doing 10 filo layers, I added a layer of the pecan filling. Then I did 10 more filo layers, again brushing butter in between, then another layer of pecan filling, then 10 more filo layers.
I sliced the Salted Caramel & Pecan Baklava up into pieces before baking. They baked for 45 minutes until golden. When it was done I immediately poured the syrup all over, then sprinkled the remaining filling in the centre of each square along with a sprinkle of coarse sea salt.
Tips for making the Salted Caramel & Pecan Baklava:
- If your filo sheets aren't the same size as the tin, place the tin over the pile of filo sheets and use it as a template to cut them to size.
- Don't worry if your filo is smaller than your tin, you can slightly overlap the sheets and cut them to fill in gaps as needed, just use the melted butter to 'glue' the overlaps together.
- You could also swap the pecans in this recipe out for walnuts.
- I used cinnamon and a little nutmeg in this recipe, but feel free to use your preferred spices. Cardamom would be lovely and fragrant for example, or a mixed spice blend like pumpkin spice would be yummy!
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Salted Caramel & Pecan Baklava
Ingredients
For the syrup
- 45 g Light brown sugar
- ½ tsp Salt
- 170 g Maple syrup or honey
- 235 ml Water
For the filling
- 45 g Light brown sugar
- ½ tsp Salt
- 150 g Pecans
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Nutmeg
For the pastry
- 225 g Butter
- 45 g Light brown sugar
- 500 g Filo Pastry (also known as phyllo pastry)
For garnish
- 1 tsp Coarse sea salt
Instructions
- Start by making the syrup. In a pan on a low heat melt the brown sugar, sea salt, water and maple syrup together Once the sugar is dissolved, let it boil for 10 minutes while stirring constantly. Pour into a bowl and cool in the fridge
- Pre-heat your oven to 160C Fan/180C/350F/Gas Mark 4
- For the filling place the pecans, light brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt into a food processor and pulse them until they look like a coarse crumb. Reserve a small amount of the filling for topping the Baklava after baking if you like (about 1 tbsp)
- Melt the butter in a pan on a low heat and stir in the light brown sugar until it dissolves
- In a deep sided 12"x9" baking tray layer up the filo sheets, brushing the butter and brown sugar between each layer. Do 10 sheets of filo, then a layer of the pecan filling, then 10 more filo sheets, another layer of the filling, then a final layer of 10 filo sheets
- Slice the baklava in the tin, into the pieces desired, before baking. Bake for 45 minutes until golden
- When it is done, immediately pour the syrup all over the baklava, then sprinkle the remaining filling in the centre of each square along with a sprinkle of coarse sea salt
- Store in an airtight container in a cool place and eat within 1 week
Jen Price
Oh wow, salted caramel baklava sounds like the best thing ever!
Stuart Vettese
Yay, we've both been baking with pecans. Your balaclava looks delish and evil 😉
Choclette Blogger
That baklava looks super scrummy Kat. I love it in pretty much any form or flavour, but haven't made it for several years, which is no good at all!
Kate Glutenfreealchemist
This looks the real deal Kat...... Love the use of salted caramel with the pecans. I can almost hear the crunch as you bite in just by looking at it. Well done! I'm impressed (again!!!)....
Benjamin Cooking
Salted pecan baklava - wow that even sounds scrumptious! 🙂
Xinmei @ Pudding Pie Lane
The baklava looks delicious by the way, I love pecan and salted caramel. They should include that in baklava more often! Yummy!
Rachel
Your Baklava looks fantastic and what fab flavours - yum! 🙂
Klaudia
I made these today and they tasted really good but they were quite dry and crunchy. What could be the reason? I used honey instead of maple syrup and had a bit of the butter mixture still left over at the end.
thebakingexplorer
Hi Klaudia, they are definitely meant to be crunchy, at least on top anyway. The syrup soaks into the bottom layers more so it makes it nice and moist. It's hard for to know exactly what went wrong, but I am sorry they didn't turn out how you expected.
Jane Saunders
Hey Kat, I made this on Saturday with my 2 girls. After spotting it on Instagram, I decided to see if it sounded achievable with kids and it was. It's a great recipe to make as a team when it comes to the layering up and I loved the sound of the sizzle as we poured the syrup onto the freshly baked baklava.
We all loved it, even my husband and he's not known for dishing out compliments to anything sweet.
Excellent recipe - thanks so much for opening my eyes to the world of homemade baklava.
thebakingexplorer
Thanks for your lovely comment Jane, I'm so please this recipe was a hit with your family!
Farrah
Really enjoying your recipes. Tried quite a few now and are always a success! Although I have made baklava before your recipe looks fabulous, must give it a go!
Could you please tell me what size tin you have used and if you have tried this personally with any other combination of nuts and spices?
Thank you x
thebakingexplorer
Hi Farrah, I'm so happy to hear you've been enjoying my recipes! Thank you for the lovely feedback 😀 So sorry the tin size wasn't detailed, I've added that to the recipe now, it was 12" x 9". I haven't tried it myself with any other combination yet, but pistachio, cardamom and rose are very traditional flavour options for baklava.
Pri
Made these for Diwali! They were AMAZING!! Friends and family couldn’t get enough!!
Thanks Kat for this recipe xx