Black Pepper Free Baklava with Walnuts and Honey Syrup
Flaky, golden, and drenched in fragrant honey syrup, this baklava is the kind of dessert that stops conversation the moment it hits the table. Layers of buttered phyllo surround a spiced walnut filling seasoned with cinnamon and cardamom, then the whole thing gets a slow pour of warm honey syrup infused with a cinnamon stick and whole cloves. The result is rich, sticky, and deeply aromatic — everything great baklava should be. For anyone avoiding black pepper, this recipe is a natural fit, since the warm spice notes here come entirely from cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves, with no pepper anywhere in the filling or syrup. The technique matters as much as the ingredients: cutting the pastry before baking keeps those signature diamond shapes clean and intact, and pouring cool syrup over hot baklava straight from the oven creates that irresistible crisp-yet-moist texture. Patience is the only real challenge — letting it rest for several hours allows the syrup to soak in fully and the layers to set beautifully. Make it the night before and it will be even better by the time you serve it.
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Learn more →Ingredients
24 servings
For the baklava
- 1 lb (about 40 sheets) phyllo dough, thawed
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
For the walnut filling
- 4 cups walnut halves
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- ⅛ tsp fine salt
For the honey syrup
- 1 cup honey
- ¾ cup water
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 whole cloves
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- 1
Make the syrup first so it has time to cool completely before use. Combine the honey, water, sugar, cinnamon stick, and whole cloves in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat, stir in the lemon juice, and let the syrup cool to room temperature. Remove and discard the cinnamon stick and cloves.
- 2
Pulse the walnut halves in a food processor 8–10 times until coarsely chopped — pieces should be roughly the size of a pea, not a fine powder. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the sugar, ground cinnamon, cardamom, and salt until evenly combined.
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