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!

I am a sucker for crispy sweet pastries like baklava that are loaded with nuts. But when you add Nutella to it, it just turns this classic into an out of this world dessert. And that’s what this chocolate baklava is. Crispy, sweet, chocolatey, and nutty.

Baklava is surprisingly easy to make. Most of the work is in the assembly so don’t be afraid to test this recipe out, no matter your skill level. While it may take a bit of time to assemble, the end result is worth all the wait.

What Is Baklava?

Baklava is one of my favorite desserts. It originates in the Middle East and it’s a rich, decadent, sweet and delicious dessert. We’re talking irresistible layers of phyllo pastry filled with chopped nuts and sweetened and held together with a honey syrup. This one gets a decadent twist with the addition of Nutella.

What Is Phyllo?

Not to be confused with puff pastry, phyllo (also known as filo) is a very thin unleavened Middle Eastern dough that is used in pastries like baklava. When cooked it crisps up and forms airy little layers that just melt in your mouth when eaten.

Ingredients

Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.

• Nuts – Almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios and walnuts.
• Hazelnut spread – I used Nutella today but feel free to use whichever brand you prefer.
• Salt – We always want to make sure we add salt to our desserts, believe me the flavor won’t develop properly otherwise!
• Butter – Unsalted to control our sodium and melted.
• Phyllo pastry – Thawed according to package instructions.

Syrup

• Honey – The base of our sauce, believe me you’ll want to use honey for this recipe!
• Cinnamon stick – We will cook this in our syrup to gently flavor our syrup, if ground is all you have on hand substitute 1/2 a teaspoon.
• Water – To thin out our sauce so that it is absorbed be all our crispy phyllo.

Let’s Talk Nuts

I used 4 different kinds of nuts here, but you don’t need to. I chose almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios and walnuts for a rich filling full of complexity and flavor. You want to make sure you toast them all first if they aren’t already roasted, and then just chop them in a food processor.

You’ll need about 2 cups of nuts altogether, so if you choose to only use walnuts and pistachios for example, just use a cup of each.

How To Make Chocolate Baklava

Filling

1. Prepare the oven: Preheat your oven to 350 F degrees. Lightly spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. If you use a 13×9 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.
2. Toast the nuts: If the 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.
3. Blend the filling: 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.

Assembly

1. Prepare the phyllo: 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 and repeat with 5 more sheets, you should end up with 6 sheets, all brushed with butter.
2. Assemble the baklava: Drizzle about 1/3 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.
3. Prepare the baklava for the oven: You’ll have 3 layers of Nutella and nuts and 4 layers of buttered phyllo sheets. Press gently into a pan and 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 24 pieces.
4. Bake the baklava: Bake for 35 minutes or until phyllo is golden brown and the edges appear slightly crisp. While the baklava is baking, make the syrup.

Syrup

1. Make the honey syrup: Add 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.
2. Finish the chocolate baklava: After you remove the baklava from the oven, immediately drizzle the honey mixture over the baklava. Cool the baklava in the pan.

Tips For Using Phyllo Pastry

Phyllo pastry can be quite intimidating and frustrating to work with because it dries out and tears quickly. However with a couple simple tricks, you’ll have nothing to worry about.

1. Do not open the phyllo package until you’re ready to use it. As I mentioned above, thaw it in the fridge overnight and only take it out an hour before ready to use it. Thawed phyllo pastry can last up to a month in the fridge.
2. Unroll the phyllo sheets and lay them flat on your work surface. Immediately cover them with a damp towel. Keep them covered when you’re not working with them. As you take a phyllo sheet from the stack, immediately cover the stack. This will keep them from drying.
3. If you have any leftover sheets, roll them up, wrap them well in plastic and refrigerate for up to two weeks, or freeze for up to two months.

What Else Can I Use In My Baklava Filling?

Feel free to have some fun with this dessert, all it needs is nuts + something sweet to really create a stellar filling.

• Apricots
• Crushed graham crackers
• Orange rind (to cook in the syrup)
• Clarified melted butter
• Cloves

Tips For Making The Best Baklava

1. I love to mix in a bit of cinnamon with my nuts for a bit of cinnamon flavor that carries through so be sure not to skip this step.
2. You can find phyllo dough in the freezer section of your grocery store near pie crust and frozen puff pastry.
3. You’ll need plenty of butter, so don’t skimp on the butter and feel free to clarify it if you’d like to go above and beyond. The butter is what makes the phyllo layers super crispy.
4. This dessert is so delicious and beautiful once finished, my best piece of advice is to share this dish with loved ones – it’s best when devoured as a group!

The question remains, can you eat just one piece?
Try some other variations of baklava like a traditional Baklava, or my Pistachio Baklava!

Leftovers

This chocolate 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.

Freezer

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.

More Delicious Desserts To Try:

• Spanakopita
• Chicken Phyllo Triangles
• Baklava
• Pistachio Baklava
• Spinach Feta Wreath
• Mushroom And Leek Strudel
• Chocolate Fudge
• Apple Strudel
• Chocolate Swiss Roll Fudge