You can’t call this Baklava cake flaky! A hint of orange, a touch of spice, a hefty dose of nuttiness, and a cake crumb so moist and flavorful make this recipe for baklava cake a wow-winner.
WHAT IS BAKLAVA?
Baklava is a Middle Eastern pastry that is arguably the most popular one. It’s made of 3 layers: crispy layers of phyllo dough, finely chopped nuts filling, and syrup.
It’s sticky. It's sweet. It’s succulent.
The nuts, the spices, and the syrup used change from region to region. But nonetheless, Baklava remains a sensory, delectable, and delicious experience.
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WHY THIS RECIPE FOR BAKLAVA CAKE IS A MUST-TRY!
The ingredient list makes it seem long and boggling, but the cake comes together super-fast.
It looks like a lot of effort, but you and I know it's UNQUESTIONABLY not.
It looks and tastes rich, but it’s a light cake.
Definitely a 10!
HOW TO MAKE BAKLAVA CAKE?
Step 1. Set your oven to preheat, butter your baking tin, and then line the bottom with parchment paper.
Step 2. Make the baklava topping. Give the melted butter, brown sugar, walnuts, and pistachios a good mix, and then spread it evenly over your parchment paper.
Step 3. Next, let’s get the baklava cake batter ready. First, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon powder, and cardamom powder in a large bowl.
Step 4. Whisk in caster sugar and almond flour to this.
Step 5. In another bowl, combine yogurt, oil, and orange blossom water (more on the latter later).
Step 6. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix just until there are no white streaks visible to form a thick batter.
Step 7. Pour the cake over the baklava nut topping layer.
Step 8. Bake for 40–50 minutes (a skewer inserted in the center should come out clean).
Step 9. Make the honey syrup while the Baklava-flavored cake bakes.
- Heat water, honey, sugar, lemon juice, and a stick of cinnamon together.
- After the first boil, lower the flame and let it simmer for about 7-8 minutes.
- Take it off the heat, remove the cinnamon stick, and add orange blossom water,
Step 10. Once the cake is out of the oven, let it rest for a couple of minutes before you (carefully) turn it over on a serving platter.
Step 11. Carefully remove the parchment paper from the upside-down cake. Then gently poke holes in it.
Step 12. Spoon the honey syrup on the cake and then let it cool for a good 40-45 minutes, giving it time to soak and marry all the lip-smacking Middle Eastern dessert flavors.
Final step: Slice and serve.
SERVING HONEY BAKLAVA CAKE
With July coming to a close, I’m sort of getting ready for the festive season, starting with Raksha Bandhan. So, I went all out when it came to decorating the cake.
Gold leaf. Finely chopped pistachios. And dried rose petals. I used all three to crown the cake. The first is very optional, so if you can’t get your hands on gold or silver leaf (vark), skip it.
Serve a slice with a cup of tea for a delightful evening treat. Or coffee. Baklava cake pairs with the rich, earthy, and bitter flavor perfectly.
I know it’s planning too much in advance, but this easy baklava cake is so very, very beautiful that it fits the bill for Diwali too! Make it the centerpiece of your dessert table, or use it as a homemade gift.
BAKLAVA CAKE RECIPE NOTES
- Make sure your nuts are finely chopped. You don’t want chunky pieces.
- The lemon juice in the honey syrup is not for taste; it just makes sure the sugar doesn’t crystallize.
- Drizzle the syrup while the cake is still warm.
- Don’t want a honey syrup cake? Skip the syrup. It’s completely optional. But personally recommended because it’s a glorious thing that makes the cake so moist and flavorful.
SUBS & SWAPS FOR BAKLAWA CAKE
Flour: I’ve found a portion of almond flour makes for a moister baklava cake because the flour soaks up that syrup beautifully. And, of course, paints it with a nutty flavor too.
Almond flour is easily available online, or you can make it at home by grinding blanched, peeled, and dried almonds as finely as you can. If they stay a little mealy, that’s fine too. You’ll love the texture it imparts to the cake.
I used all-purpose flour, but I know whole-wheat works just as well.
Oil: Coconut oil is my go-to choice. Feel free to substitute with melted butter or any vegetable oil.
Yogurt: I chose to make an eggless recipe for baklava cake, which has plain Greek yogurt. Drained, homemade yogurt will do the job as long as it is hung until it is super thick and creamy.
For those who opt for baklava cake with eggs:
- Reduce the quantity of yogurt by half.
- Add two eggs.
Nuts: A classic baklava has walnuts and pistachios, and that’s what I was gunning for. Almonds, hazelnuts, or pine nuts will be equally delicious.
Spices: You can omit cinnamon and cardamom if you're not a fan of them. Optional though they may be, the spices give it an extra kick and dimension!
Floral water: I’d been hankering to try orange blossom cake flavor, and I was lucky enough to be gifted a bottle of orange blossom water recently. So, in it went.
It’s fairly easy to buy online, but if you don’t want to go through the hassle, use rose water, as I did for my baklava cheesecake.
If you don’t even have that, use orange zest. The idea is to give the Middle Eastern flavors a citrus hint that brightens up every mouthful.
MORE MIDDLE EASTERN DESSERT RECIPES
Half the joy of cooking is sharing it with others, which is why I’m always eager to hear from you. So go right ahead and drop a comment or reach out on Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, or Facebook. I hope you love baklava cake as much as we do!
📖 Recipe
Easy Baklava Cake
Ingredients
Topping
- 1/2 cup / 60 gms Pistachios
- 1/2 cup / 60 gms Walnuts
- 3 tbsp Brown sugar
- 3 tbsp Butter, melted
Cake
- 1 1/4 cup / 165 gms All-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 tsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking soda
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Cardamom powder
- 1 1/4 tsp Cinnamon powder
- 1/2 cup / 65 gms Almond flour
- 1/2 cup / 100 gms Caster sugar
- 1 1/4 cup / 310 gms Greek yogurt, plain
- 1/3 cup / 65 gms Coconut oil
- 1.5 tsp Orange blossom water You can use rosewater instead
Syrup
- 3 tbsp Sugar
- 1/4 cup / 56 gms Water
- 1 tbsp Honey
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 small Cinnamon stick
- 1.5 tsp Orange blossom water
Topping
- Chopped pistachios, Dried rose petals, Gold leaf Optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 C. Grease a 6" cake tin, line the bottom with parchment paper and butter it lightly.
Topping
- Finely chop the pistachios and walnuts.
- Combine the chopped nuts with brown sugar and melted butter in a small bowl.
- Spread this nut mixture evenly over the parchment paper in your cake tin.
Cake
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cardamom powder, and cinnamon powder in a large bowl.
- Whisk in the caster sugar and almond flour.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the yogurt, oil, and orange blossom water.
- Pour over the dry ingredients, and mix well until no flour streaks are visible. Its a thick batter.
- Pour the cake batter carefully over the nuts.
- Bake at 180 C for 45-50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let the cake rest in the pan for 5-7 minutes before turning it over on a serving platter. Carefully remove the parchment paper.
- Poke holes all over the surface of the cake using a toothpick. Carefully spoon over the syrup. Let it cool for at least 45 minutes.
- Decorate with chopped pistachios, dried rose petals, and gold leaf. Slice and serve. Enjoy!
Syrup
- While the cake is baking, get the syrup ready by boiling water with sugar, a cinnamon stick, lemon juice, and honey. Once it comes to a boil, lower the heat and let it simmer on low for about 10 minutes.
- Take out the cinnamon stick and let the syrup cool a bit. Add the orange blossom water and your syrup is ready.
lisa says
hi
can this cake be made ahead of time?
how do you store left over came?
thanks
Natasha Minocha says
Hi Lisa, you can make this cake a day before, but decorate it before serving. I would store it in the refrigerator and bring it to room temperature before serving. Hope this helps. 🙂