This tart borrows the core flavours of baklava – pistachios, honey, cinnamon, and orange blossom water – but delivers them in a format that’s far more manageable to make at home.
Instead of layering dozens of filo sheets, you press a single spelt shortcrust shell into a tart tin, fill it with a cooked pistachio mixture, and bake it until set. The result has that same sticky, fragrant quality without the filo construction work.
Spelt flour gives the pastry a depth that plain all-purpose flour doesn’t. It’s slightly nutty, which pairs well with the pistachios and keeps the base from tasting bland under the sweet filling.
The filling sets firm enough to slice cleanly at room temperature, which makes it practical for entertaining. You can bake it the day before and it only gets better as the honey soaks deeper into the nuts.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Spelt pastry adds a nutty depth plain pastry lacks.
- No filo layering – one shell, one filling, done.
- Slices cleanly at room temperature for easy serving.
- Keeps three days and improves as flavours settle.
Ingredient Notes
- White spelt flour: White spelt gives a tender, workable pastry. Wholegrain spelt can replace up to half the quantity for a nuttier base, but the dough becomes slightly crumblier and harder to roll.
- Raw shelled pistachios: Use unsalted, raw or lightly roasted pistachios. Roasted salted ones will make the filling too salty and can overpower the honey. Walnuts or a mix of walnuts and almonds work well as a substitute.
- Runny honey: A neutral honey like acacia lets the pistachio flavour come through cleanly. Stronger honeys like buckwheat are fine if you want a more assertive flavour. Maple syrup works for a vegan version.
- Orange blossom water: Start with 1 teaspoon and add more to taste – it’s potent. Rose water is a direct substitute. If you don’t have either, a teaspoon of finely grated orange zest gives a lighter citrus note.
- Unsalted butter: Cold butter is non-negotiable for a short, crisp pastry. For a dairy-free version, use solid coconut oil or a good quality vegan butter block, chilled.
- Ground cinnamon and cardamom: This combination is the backbone of the baklava flavour profile. Cardamom can be reduced or omitted if you prefer a simpler spice note. Ground ginger also works as a partial substitute.
Spelt Pistachio Baklava Tart
Description
Spelt shortcrust gives this tart a nutty, slightly earthy base that holds the sticky pistachio and honey filling without going soggy. It's the structure that makes the whole thing work.
Ingredients
Spelt Pastry Shell
Pistachio Baklava Filling
Instructions
Make the Spelt Pastry
- Combine the spelt flour, icing sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the cold butter cubes and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs with no large butter pieces visible.
- Add the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of cold water. Mix with a fork, then your hands, until the dough just comes together. Add the second tablespoon of water only if the dough is too dry to hold its shape. Do not overwork.
- Flatten the dough into a disc, wrap in clingfilm, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 180 C / 355 F. Roll the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface to a circle roughly 3 mm thick and large enough to line a 9-inch loose-bottomed tart tin with a slight overhang.
- Press the pastry into the tin without stretching it, then roll the rolling pin over the rim to trim the excess. Prick the base all over with a fork.
- Line the pastry shell with a sheet of baking paper and fill with baking beans or dried rice. Blind bake for 15 minutes, then remove the beans and paper. Return to the oven for a further 5 minutes until the base looks pale gold and dry. Set aside.
Make the Pistachio Filling
- While the shell blind bakes, toast the chopped pistachios in a dry frying pan over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant and slightly darkened. Tip onto a plate to cool.
- In a medium saucepan over low-medium heat, melt the butter with the honey and light brown sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Do not boil.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the cinnamon, cardamom, orange blossom water, and orange zest. Add the toasted pistachios and stir to coat evenly.
Fill and Bake
- Spoon the pistachio mixture into the blind-baked spelt shell and spread it in an even layer, pressing gently so the nuts sit flat.
- Bake at 180 C / 355 F for 18 to 20 minutes until the filling is bubbling at the edges and the surface looks set and glossy.
- Remove from the oven and scatter a pinch of flaky sea salt over the surface immediately. Leave the tart to cool completely in the tin on a wire rack - at least 1 hour - before releasing from the tin and slicing.
Nutrition Facts
Servings 8
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 420kcal
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 26g40%
- Saturated Fat 9g45%
- Cholesterol 55mg19%
- Sodium 75mg4%
- Potassium 380mg11%
- Total Carbohydrate 42g15%
- Dietary Fiber 4g16%
- Sugars 22g
- Protein 8g16%
- Vitamin A 280 IU
- Vitamin C 2 mg
- Calcium 45 mg
- Iron 2 mg
- Vitamin D 12 IU
- Vitamin E 2 mg
- Vitamin K 8 mcg
- Thiamin 0.2 mg
- Riboflavin 0.1 mg
- Niacin 1.5 mg
- Vitamin B6 0.4 mg
- Folate 28 mcg
- Vitamin B12 0.1 mcg
- Phosphorus 195 mg
- Magnesium 48 mg
- Zinc 1.2 mg
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Note
Additional Notes
- Chill pastry dough for at least 30 minutes before rolling for easier handling.
- Blind bake the shell until pale gold - roughly 15 minutes with baking beans.
- Do not skip toasting the pistachios - it takes 3 minutes and noticeably improves flavour.
- Cool the tart fully in the tin before removing to prevent the filling from cracking.
- Orange blossom water is strong - start with 1 teaspoon and taste before adding more.
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