I'm a fan of this website. https://www.mygreekdish.com/recipe/baklava-greek-walnut-pistachio-cake/

That recipe will make a very thin syrup, since it will have boiled only two minutes, and that is not very much time for much flavor from the cinnamon stick to be released. I would call that a sugar/water solution rather than a true syrup, although the honey will help somewhat.

How runny was it when you made it? Mine was almost too thick, and I was hoping for something in the middle.

Hi Lars,

I don't know if you remember me, We met at Jessica's house many years ago when I taught a "filo class".

I had a similar situation recently when I went to my local bakery and bought a piece of baklava. Like your experience, it too was bone dry. Here's my mom's recipe for syrup that I've been making for 40+ years at home, and for our local church's annual Greek festival. Makes about 3-3 1/2 cups, so you can scale it up or down as needed.

3 cups sugar

2 cup water

1 cinnamon stick

1 TBsp lemon juice

1/4 cup honey - I prefer orange blossom, but clover or wildflower will be fine

In a sauce pan, bring the sugar, water and cinnamon stick to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the lemon juice and honey and bring back just to a boil.

Cool and store in the refrigerator - leave the cinnamon stick in. ( The syrup can be stored for months in the frig, but best made at least a week in advance when planning on baking a pan of baklava. It helps to blend and mellow the flavors) I keep a supply in the frig year round, along with clarified butter and chopped, prepared, walnuts - in the freezer. That way when I need a pan of baklava I have all the components ready to go and can assemble a pan quickly. (The syrup can also be used to pour over Galatoboureko, or in a pinch use it on pancakes).

Olympia

Lars, I just finished a piece of baklava. Yum. I once made something like it —Greek bird’s nest with pistachios. It called for culinary rose water.

Olympia, I do remember you, but I had you confused with another GW member who uses the name "Olychick," and I mistakenly told her that she had recommended a Greek cookbook!

Thanks for setting me straight. I still have a lot of raw video from the filo class that you gave at Jessica's house.

I'll try your recipe next time. I notice that it simply says to simmer the mixture for 20 minutes, which is what the Greek cookbook says, but that book also says to go to 224° on the candy thermometer, and I think that is too high. It took me almost an hour of simmering to get to that point, and the syrup came out too thick. Today, the syrup has a bit of a grainy texture, but I did add honey to it. It's not bad, but it's thicker than molasses.

I don't have a recipe per se, since I haven't made it for a very long time. I'm not sure the origins of our baklava (the word is Greek, but I think our kind came from father east), but it's made with pistachios (required!) and the syrup, IIRC, is watered down bee's honey (though date honey could be used if one didn't have bee's honey). All of the spices and flavors were in the nut filling, not the honey syrup.

The best baklava I've had was at an Armenian restaurant in Tujunga. We stop there after going to an art sale somewhere in the foothills nearby where a friend of Kevin's sells her ceramics each year in early December. I do not think they will have that sale this year, and I can't remember the name of the restaurant, but I do remember that it was on Foothill Blvd, on the north side of the street, I think. I could probably find it again if I were in the neighborhood, but there is always the possibility that it is no longer open. The wife of the owner made the baklava herself.

My grandmother’s baklava recipe is similar to what Plllog is describing. The cinnamon and cloves are mixed with the nuts. There’s no lemon or sugar in the syrup. And the syrup is 3 parts honey to 1 part water. My grandmother was adamant about not skimping on the honey (or the butter). Every Christmas, my grandmother, mother, and aunt made several restaurant-size pans each of baklava for my uncle to distribute to vendors, special customers, local dignitaries, etc.

I think it needs to be quite runny as it soaks in. I have many Greek recipes where cakes call for a syrup and they're all runny.

Lars, I've never checked the temperature when making the syrup - now you've got me curious. My mom used to test it by dropping a tiny amount on a plate, letting it cool slightly and then checking the consistency. Looking for a slightly thin pancake syrup viscosity, I just do it by sight.

Adding the honey will mellow it a little and the lemon will cut the sweetness a bit.

Shambo, the ratios in your syrup sound more like the syrup I use to dip my Melomakarona - heavier on the honey - soooo yummy!!! Recently I've been adding a pinch of salt to the walnut mixture along with the cinnamon and cloves for the baklava. Seems to round out the flavors for me. Like your family, I bake several different greek sweets for my husband's clients at Christmas - must be in our DNA....

I like Shambo's idea of honey diluted with a bit of water. Honey by itself would be too thick, but it does have enough flavor (unlike a sugar syrup) so that it would not need additives, such as cinnamon and cloves. Honey, of course, is quite a bit more expensive than sugar, but I would not have to use it that often, and it would be very easy to make small amounts.

To me, the sugar syrup made with cinnamon and cloves has a flavor that is similarly complex to the flavor of honey - I have clover honey from Texas. I don't think the baklava that Kevin bought has much in the way of spice added to it, and so the extra spice in the syrup is helpful.