Coconut Walnut Baklava

A variation on the traditional baklava, this coconut walnut baklava features shredded coconut, toasted walnuts, and orange honey syrup.

This sweet and crunchy treat is perfect for holiday gatherings.

When my husband and I visited Turkey and Greece a few years ago, I ate baklava EVERY DAY of our vacation. I didn’t realize how many variations of baklava existed.

Some were made with pistachio, others had walnuts. We found plenty of the classic diamond shaped ones but also stumbled upon some that were rolled into round cookie forms.

There was baklava that smelled of floral rose water and others with the sweet scent of orange blossom.

In this recipe, I’m sharing a version of baklava using my favorite ingredient- coconut!

Coconut Walnut Baklava

Baklava is a sweet dessert layered with phyllo dough and ground nuts. It is rich, decadent, and very satisfying.

As a multi-layered treat, it has a variety of textures that keeps you wanting more and more. Traditional baklava is often made with walnuts or pistachios.

Only a handful of ingredients are needed to make this dessert. This coconut walnut baklava is simple to make, however, it does require a bit of time and patience.

How to Assemble Baklava

1. Cut and trim phyllo dough to fit baking dish or casserole dish. Brush dough with melted butter. Repeat until you have used 7 sheets of phyllo dough.
2. Spread 1 cup nut filling over phyllo dough.
3. Add a sheet of phyllo dough over nut filling. Brush with melted butter. Repeat until you have used 5 sheets of phyllo. Spread another cup of nut filling and repeat with another 5 layers of phyllo.
4. Continue to add nut filling until you run out. Then, use 7 sheets of phyllo for the final top layer. Use a sharp knife to cut the baklava into diamond pattern or square shape.

Tips on Working with Phyllo Dough:

Phyllo dough, also spelled filo or fillo dough, is a paper thin unleavened dough. I made phyllo dough from scratch ONCE in culinary school. It was a tedious process.

For my sanity, I prefer to simply purchase high-quality store-bought frozen phyllo dough.

Since phyllo dough is super thin, it can dry out very fast. When working with phyllo, make sure it is always covered with a damp kitchen towel. This will ensure the dough remains pliable.

Exposure to too much air will harden the phyllo dough and make it dry and brittle. At this point, the dough will very difficult to work with.

A reader informed me that “baklava” in Turkish translates to “diamond cut.” Slice your baklava into the traditional diamond shape, or cut them into triangles or squares.

Because baklava tends to be very sweet, I like to cut small servings to prevent sugar rush overload!

I really enjoy the combination of unsweetened shredded coconut with the toasted walnuts.

There are many many variations of honey. For this recipe, I prefer orange blossom honey to because it is slightly less sweet than other varieties. Clover honey is also a great option. (I would stay away from the darker hued, very sweet honey.) Orange peel is steeped in the honey syrup mixture to further enhance the citrus notes.

While some sweets (like donuts or cake) are best enjoyed the day their made, this coconut walnut baklava tastes better the following day!

Allow the baklava to completely cool to room temperature. Loosely cover with wax paper. This will allow the exposed phyllo to crisp up and give the nut/coconut filling mixture time to absorb all the flavors from the honey syrup.