Lavash
Paper-thin unleavened flatbread, blistered and scored in the tradition of the hearth.
Step-by-step →Sweet · Yerevan
PAKHLAVA
Փախլավա
Walnut and cinnamon layers under honey syrup, cut in diamonds and drenched while still hot.
2 hours
Total time
Makes 24 pieces
Yield
5
Steps
Step by step
HOW IT IS MADE
- 01
Mix the nut layer
Combine ground walnuts with sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of clove.
- 02
Build in threes
Butter every sheet as you stack. Lay a third of the sheets, half the nuts, another third, the rest of the nuts, then the last sheets.
- 03
Cut before baking
Score all the way through into diamonds with a sharp knife — after baking the layers would shatter.
- 04
Bake slow and golden
Bake at 170 °C for 45–50 minutes until evenly bronze all over.
- 05
Syrup hot on hot
Boil honey, sugar, water and lemon into a light syrup and pour it over the pastry the moment it leaves the oven. Rest six hours before serving.
At a glance
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Energy
- ≈ 320 kcal per piece
- Preparation
- 45 min
- Cooking
- 50 min baking
- Season
- All year, especially New Year and Easter
- Occasion
- New Year, Easter, gifts to neighbours
Cook's notes
GET IT RIGHT
- Cut through all layers before baking, not after.
- Hot syrup on hot pastry keeps it crisp; cold on cold turns it soggy.
- Lemon juice in the syrup stops it crystallising.
- Grind the walnuts coarsely so there is texture, not paste.
Variations
Honey-heavy Yerevan style
More honey than sugar in the syrup, darker and more floral.
Rolled pakhlava
Sheets rolled around the nut filling and cut into short logs.
Questions
ASKED IN THE KITCHEN
Walnuts or pistachios?
Walnuts are the Armenian default; pistachios are delicious but read as a different tradition.
Why is mine soggy?
Too much syrup, or syrup added cold. Use a light syrup and pour it on straight from the pan.
History & Culture
WHY THIS DISH
Layered nut pastries belong to the whole region, but the Armenian version leans on walnuts rather than pistachios and on honey rather than plain sugar syrup — a reflection of highland orchards and mountain hives.
In Armenian homes pakhlava is a New Year and Easter sweet, baked in wide copper trays and given away by the plate to neighbours, who are expected to return the plate with something on it.
MORE FROM
THE TABLE
All Recipes
Khorovats
Charcoal lamb glazed in pomegranate molasses, the Sunday centerpiece of the Caucasus.
Step-by-step →
Manti
Hand-pleated beef dumplings, fried crisp and buried under a crown of black walnut.
Step-by-step →