25 Variations Of Baklava, Explained

Baklava is a Middle Eastern dessert commonly associated with countries like Turkey and Greece. The tradition of making unleavened dough and layering it with sugar and nuts dates back to the 8th century. The exact origin of baklava is still contested, but historians point to Turkey, and the Ottoman Empire before the treat was eventually spread across borders into Greece. The first baklava was believed to have religious roots, as Greek baklava is typically made with 33 layers of phyllo dough to signify the age of Christ. Baklava is often eaten during Muslim Ramadan and Eid ul-Fitr, as well as Christmas (via Bodrum NYC).

While baklava's exact filling and ingredients depend on the country and preparation, there are a few main components of standard baklava. The first is phyllo dough, an unleavened thin sheet that gives the pastry its flakiness, sugar (such as syrup or honey), and nuts. The brevity of baklava variations includes different spices, soaks, and shapes. Here are some of the most popular variations of the baklava you may see in an ethnic bakery.

Chocolate baklava has many variations within itself. Some chocolate baklava recipes stick to using a blend of hazelnuts and chocolate-hazelnut spread to impart nutty, chocolatey flavors on the pastry, while others will mix chopped bittersweet chocolate in with the walnut, almond, hazelnut, or pistachio filling. You may also see a drizzle of chocolate on the top of each pastry for a bit of crunch and a sweet chocolate flavor. Many chocolate baklava recipes will also infuse orange into the glaze on this pastry or add a bit of clove into the nut mixture to complement the chocolate.

Havuç Dilim baklava, or carrot slice baklava, is traditionally made with 30-layer phyllo dough and copious amounts of pistachio filling (via Turkish Taste). Unlike other baklava types, which are sliced into squares or diamonds, the carrot slice baklava is sliced into triangles — which are slightly larger than other servings of baklava. Carrot slice baklava can come in both dry and traditional forms and tend to have more buttery flavors than sweet ones.

Şöbiyet is Turkish baklava made with the inclusion of a dairy-rich ingredient: cream. According to Safir Bakery, söbiyet in Arabic means "to eat, to be full," which we can assure you will happen if you eat enough of these treats. Like baklava, söbiyet is made with phyllo dough, walnuts, and a syrup coating but includes a layer of cream called kaymak. Kaymak is made by mixing semolina and milk, which gives a subtle sweetness and earthiness. Şöbiyet is traditionally served with ice cream and can be found in bakeries across Turkey.

Baklava made with a cream layer in the dough is called "wet baklava." Because of the inclusion of a perishable milk product, the wet baklava has a shorter shelf life than "dry baklava" — which is made without cream.

Sütlü Nuriye is a milky type of Turkish baklava made with crushed hazelnuts. Rather than being coated entirely with a sugar coating, baklava bakers combine milk with a little bit of sugar for sweetness and pour the concoction over the baked pastry. This contributes to the light color of the Sütlü Nuriye compared to traditional Turkish baklava. According to Ozlem's Turkish Table, the most likely reason bakers started to use hazelnuts in this baklava variation rather than the traditional pistachios was because of a major supply shortage in the 1980s. The inclusion of milk accentuates the softness of the hazelnuts and makes for a much lighter baklava.

According to Authentic Turkish Baklava, there are many similarities between yaprak söbiyet and söbiyet, including the layer of kaymak. Yaprak söbiyet, also called leaf söbiyet, is the excessive amount of pistachios stuffed into the pastry. The most common pistachio type used for the yaprak söbiyet is the green pistachio, which is one of the most expensive types of nuts in the world due to the resources the plant requires, as well as the labor necessary to hand-sort the nuts.

Dilber dudaği is a uniquely shaped variation of baklava common in Turkey. According to Nomad Paradise, these baklavas get their name, "lady's lips," from rolling and folding the baklava into clamshell shapes before baking. Dilber dudaği are most commonly filled with pistachios or walnuts and covered in thin syrup. According to the Turkish Porter, dilber dudaği's sherbet (the fat that binds the layers of phyllo together) is cold-poured, rather than traditional baklava's sherbet method of hot-pouring the binder onto the dough sheets.

Asawer are Lebanese baklava that resemble the Turkish bülbül yuvası (via Libanais Sweets). "Asawer" translates to "bracelets" in Lebanese, which eludes to the thin shape of these baklavas. Asawer is a relatively small and light baklava made by shaping pieces of phyllo into discs before using a rod to flip the dough in half. These baklavas are filled with pistachios but dusted with a light layer of raw pine kernels. After the pastry is shaped into a bracelet-like circle, it is covered in sweet syrup and garnished with crushed pistachios and pine kernels.

You'll see variations of these finger baklava across the Mediterranean, Middle East, and Northern Africa. However, you might also be confused when you see baklava and baklawa next to one another. Greek baklava, though, is usually coated with a honey glaze, while Arab baklawa (same food, different spelling) is coated with an infused glaze (via Simply Lebanese). Regardless of the coating of these baklavas, the process of stuffing and shaping them is very similar. Damp sheets of phyllo are placed down, and the nut filling (usually a mix of chopped walnuts and pistachios) is placed in a log shape on one end of the baklava. The pastry is then rolled like a cinnamon roll to the other side. It is then baked, covered in the respective syrup, and sliced into small logs for serving.

Baklawa bil jibna are an Arabic preparation of baklava often eaten in Libya. Instead of being filled with nuts, these baklawa are filled with a sweetened cream cheese called Jibn Akawi. In Arabic baklawa fashion, the cream of this baklawa can be sweetened and flavored with rosewater. The rosewater syrup poured onto the finished baklawa is floral, bright and provides a lighter flavor than nut-filled baklawa varieties. Baklawa bil jibna is commonly eaten during the Muslim holiday of Ramadan.

Taj al malek, or "king's crowns," are a type of baklava made with shredded phyllo called kataifi. The shreds are shaped into nest-like cups by drying out the dough for several days in a mold. Before baking, the dough is covered in ghee or butter (this accentuates the golden brown color). The pistachio and syrup filling is cooked separately from the pastry and added to the center of the pastry after baking. Pistachios are the most traditional type of nut used for this recipe, but walnuts or pecans can be substituted as well. 

Ballourieh baklava is characteristically made with distinct layers of shredded wheat dough (kataifi) baked with a thick layer of pistachios and covered in rosewater syrup (via Baklava Factory). The Ballourieh resembles a sandwich because there are only two layers of kataifi on the top and bottom of the pastry. At regional bakeries in Syria, Jordan, and Palestine, the Ballourieh is only baked lightly so that the pastry retains its white color.

Güllaç is a dessert served in Turkey during Ramadan; some historians have even termed it the proto-baklava. The Güllaç leaves are made with a mix of flour, water, and cornstarch, and these sheets are more gelatinous than phyllo dough and don't crisp up as much. After the first layer has been placed in the pan, the Güllaç leaves are soaked in a milky mix with sugar and rosewater before being layered with chopped walnuts. After all the layers have been set, the dessert is cooled so the layers can soak up the milk. Then, the dessert is sliced into squares, garnished with pomegranate seeds and pistachio dust, and served.