Soguk baklava: cold baklava with milk syrup and chocolate

Today it's going to be sweet and incredibly tasty. At the beginning of our food blog, we already told you about the Turkish trend food Soguk Baklava. Back then, we didn't think that we would only be posting Turkish recipes later on. So we told you about the delicious dessert with phyllo soaked in milk and cream syrup with nuts and chocolate… but we didn't include a recipe. Naughty! But today we're making up for that mistake.

Soğuk baklava simply means "cold baklava" in English and has been available in every bakery in Turkey since 2020. Sometimes it is also called Soguklava or Sütlava ("süt" means milk). In addition to the standard version with dark or milk chocolate, cold baklava with white chocolate has also become increasingly popular in recent months. However, we have stuck to the original.

There are already several Soguk baklava recipes circulating on Turkish blogs. But very few of them are the same as the original recipe. However, we have done a lot of research and...eeeh...tasted it…a lot. So we have created a Soguk Baklava recipe for you that will knock your socks off.

What is Soguk baklava?

You probably know baklava. Thin sheets of phyllo dough are layered with nuts, bathed in butter, baked and soaked in sugar syrup. It's a tough story, but the little sugar shock delights the palate. Soguk baklava is also made from the same baklava dough and is also layered with nuts. However, the sugar syrup consists of milk, a little cream and less sugar. Soguk baklava also contains chocolate and cocoa.

How do you pronounce soğuk baklava?

Sowuq baklava.

How is soguk baklava prepared?

We used ready-made baklava phyllo* (yufka) for our soguk baklava recipe for the first time in our lives. Although the end result is great, we also wondered during the layering process why so many people don't make the dough themselves. Making baklava with homemade dough is perhaps just as easy as with store-bought. Foretaste: You can look forward to a baklava recipe with homemade yufka soon.

To prepare, first prepare the syrup, leave it to cool and stir in a little cream. The pastry sheets are layered and coated with an oil and butter mixture in between. At some point, a thick layer of nuts is added, followed by more pastry sheets and fat. At the end, the baklava is baked until golden brown and the syrup is poured over it. Once cooled, sprinkle a mixture of cocoa, optionally powdered sugar and grated chocolate on top.

How many pieces does our Soguk baklava recipe make?

Our baking tin measures approx. 28x30 cm and made 30 pieces of baklava. However, you can also use a larger tin and determine the number of layers yourself. Either way, Soguk Baklava is great for a big visit.

Which nuts are used for the Soguk baklava recipe?

The original recipe uses pistachios. However, we have used walnuts for our Soguk baklava recipe. Nevertheless, we used a little pistachio flour* for decoration. Alternatively, you can also use hazelnuts.

What does Soguk baklava taste like?

Soguk baklava is supposed to be the lighter version of baklava. Sure, the ingredients are quite something. But the taste of Soguk baklava really is lighter. It is sweet, but less sweet than normal baklava. The combination of milk and cream syrup, nuts and chocolate also creates a stunning aroma. In terms of consistency, it is softer than normal baklava. The top layers remain crispy, but the bottom of the Soguk baklava is completely soaked in syrup. Incidentally, you can also enjoy the soguk baklava chilled from the fridge. So it's perfect for summer.

And to be honest, we like our Soguk baklava better than the one from the bakery.

Soguk baklava recipe: cold baklava with milk syrup and chocolate

Ingredients for one tray

1 packet of baklava phyllo* ("baklavalik yufka" is also available in Turkish supermarkets)
180 grams butter or margarine
100 milliliters of oil

For the syrup

400 grams of sugar
200 milliliters of water
400 milliliters of milk
100 milliliters of cream

In between

approx. 250 grams of chopped nuts (walnuts, pistachios or hazelnuts)

On top of the baklava

100 grams of chocolate (we used dark chocolate)
2 tbsp cocoa
1 tbsp powdered sugar

Preparation

Step 1: Prepare the syrup. It must already be cold when you pour it over the baklava later. To do this, boil the sugar and water in a pan. Once the sugar has dissolved, add the milk. Allow the syrup to boil for a few minutes and remove it from the heat. When it is cooler, stir in the cream.

Step 2: Melt the butter/margarine in a pan and add the oil.

Step 3: Layer one pastry sheet* at a time in your baking tin, brush it with the oil and butter mixture and layer the next pastry sheet. Continue in this way.

Step 4: After about 20 layers, spread all the nuts over the entire tray.

Step 5: Now add several more layers of dough and fat. You can choose the thickness of the baklava yourself. However, there should be at least 15 layers before and after the nuts.

Step 6: Pour the remaining butter and oil mixture over the tray. Cut the Soguk baklava into pieces of the desired size and bake in a preheated oven at 170 degrees Celsius for about an hour. Check in between, however. Take the baklava out of the oven when it is golden brown.

Step 7: Once the initial heat has gone out of the baklava after 5 minutes, pour the cold milk syrup over the baklava. Leave to soak for around an hour.

Step 8: Sprinkle the cooled baklava with grated chocolate and cocoa or a mixture of cocoa and powdered sugar. Decorate the Soguk baklava with ground pistachios* as desired. Leave to infuse in the fridge.

Tips: