Chocolate Baklava

4.63 from 8 votes

Chocolate Baklava

This Chocolate Baklava is one of my favorite desserts. Sweet, crisp and buttery layers of phyllo filled with nuts and Nutella. Finally, it's baked to perfection and drizzled with a sweet honey syrup!

Prep Time30

Cook Time35

Total Time1 5

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Keyword: baklava, chocolate baklava, dessert, middle eastern food

Servings:

Calories: 254kcal

Author: Joanna Cismaru

Ingredients

For Baklava

½ cup hazelnuts toasted
½ cup pistachios toasted
½ cup almonds toasted
½ cup walnuts toasted
½ teaspoon cinnamon ground
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup Nutella
½ cup butter unsalted, melted
24 sheets Phyllo pastry (14x9-inch), thawed according to package instructions

For Syrup

½ cup water
¾ cup honey
1 cinnamon stick

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350℉. Lightly spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. If you use a 13x9 baking dish, the phyllo sheets will be bigger, so you might need to cut the ends off, either before using them, or after you've done layering the baklava, or you can simply tuck the ends in.
If your nuts aren't toasted, simply place them on a baking sheet in a single layer and roast them for a few minutes in the oven, just until you start smelling them. Make sure you don't forget them as they will burn quickly.
Place all the nuts in a food processor and pulse a few times until they are finely chopped.
Combine all the nuts with the ground cinnamon and salt in a bowl and set aside.
Microwave the Nutella for about 30 seconds on high, until melted and easily spreadable.
Take one phyllo sheet and lay it on the bottom of the baking sheet. While working with one phyllo at a time, make sure you cover the other sheets with a damp towel. Brush this phyllo sheet evenly with butter. Repeat with 5 more sheets, you should end up with 6 sheets, all brushed with butter. Drizzle about ⅓ cup of the melted Nutella and spread with a spatula as evenly as you can. Sprinkle evenly with 1/3 of the nut mixture.
Repeat the above step with 6 more phyllo sheets, Nutella and nut mixture, two more times, ending with 6 sheets of phyllo. Therefore you'll have 3 layers of Nutella and nuts and 4 layers of buttered phyllo sheets. Press gently into pan. Cut the ends off if necessary, or simply tuck them in.
Cut into equal size squares or diamond shapes, using a very sharp knife.. You should end up with about 24 pieces.
Bake for 35 minutes or until phyllo is golden brown and the edges appear slightly crisp.
While the baklava is baking, make the syrup by adding all the syrup ingredients in a small saucepan and bringing it to a boil over medium heat. Turn the heat down and let it simmer for about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and keep warm.
After you remove the baklava from the oven, immediately drizzle the honey mixture over the baklava. Cool the baklava in the pan.

Video

Notes

To thaw out the phyllo pastry I usually take it out of the freezer the night before, and thaw it out in the fridge over night. About an hour or two before using it, I place it on the counter to bring it to room temperature.
The secret to crispy layers of phyllo is brushing each layer with butter or oil. This helps them crisp up when baked. Phyllo is extremely thin and delicate, and needs to be handled with care. Only work with one sheet at a time, and cover the rest with a clean damp towel, this will prevent them from drying out.
Baklava will last for at least a week, stored in an airtight container in the fridge so feel free to make it a few days ahead. You may even find that the flavors co-mingle even better that way.
Baklava freezes beautifully which is lucky for us! It will keep for 3 months if wrapped securely in plastic wrap or stored in an airtight container. When ready to eat allow it to thaw for 4 - 5 hours or overnight in the fridge.

Nutrition