Rice Free Baklava with Walnuts and Honey Syrup
Flaky, golden, and dripping with spiced honey syrup, this is the kind of dessert that makes a room go quiet the moment it hits the table. Layers of buttered phyllo dough alternate with a warmly spiced walnut filling seasoned with cinnamon, cardamom, and a pinch of salt, then the whole thing gets drenched in a fragrant honey syrup infused with a cinnamon stick and whole cloves. The technique here is straightforward but intentional — cutting the pieces before baking and pouring cool syrup over hot pastry are the two moves that give baklava its signature shatter-and-chew texture. Naturally free of rice in every component, this is a dessert that fits the restriction without any substitutions or workarounds whatsoever. The walnut filling is pulsed just coarse enough to give each bite real texture, and the lemon juice in the syrup keeps the sweetness bright rather than cloying. Patience is the only real requirement — letting it rest for at least four hours allows the syrup to soak in fully and the layers to set into something truly spectacular. Serve it at a dinner party or make it on a Sunday and watch it disappear piece by piece throughout the week.
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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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