An easy way to make these beautiful dessert roses with several filling options!

Watch the Video:

These beautiful almond baklava roses are filled with a light and sticky almond frangipane paste. They’re sweet, flaky, and delicious. I’m not sure why there are so many hard ways to make them, but as always, I’m sharing an extremely easy way. I like using a slightly thinner almond frangipane version for my filling. It’s the same filling that goes into those luscious almond croissants. However, I’ll give you several alternatives, and you can use your favorite. Make them ahead of time so you always have them on hand. They’re beautiful, delicious, and go well with a cup of coffee.

Why you’ll make these often

Crispy, flaky phyllo dough

sticky, juicy almond filling

Hint of bright lemon

Sweet vanilla syrup

A beautiful, delicious, and easy-to-make dessert that freezes so well that you can always have them on hand.

Baklava Roses filled with Almond Paste (Frangipane)

Everything you need

#4 phyllo -room temperature
Unsalted butter -melted

For the Syrup

Granulated sugar
Water
Juice of half a lemon -or orange if you prefer
Pure vanilla extract -sub 1 tablespoon rosewater or orange blossom water

For the Almond Filling

Almond flour
Confectioner’s sugar
Egg whites -save the yolks for custard!
Pure almond extract

Alternate Fillings

If you’re not a fan of almond paste, you can leave it out and use Nutella or your favorite chocolate hazelnut spread. Chocolate ganache would be delicious, too. You could even use a baklava filling of nuts, cinnamon and cloves or just a simple filling of your favorite ground nuts. Pistachios, walnuts, or almonds would be my top choices. There are so many ways to fill these that I’m even considering doing an apple-filling version in the fall!

How to make almond baklava roses

Make the Syrup:

Stir the sugar, water, and lemon juice together in a small saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil.
Once the sugar has dissolved, remove it from the heat, and add the vanilla extract.
Set aside and allow to cool completely.

Make the Almond Filling (Frangipane):

combine the almond flour and confectioner’s sugar in a mixing bowl.
Add the egg whites and almond extract and mix together until smooth.
Add 2-3 tablespoons of water if needed. The mixture should be moist and thinner than regular frangipane.
Transfer the almond filling to a pastry bag and cut a small opening at the bottom of the bag.

Assemble the roses:

Preheat the oven to 350 °F, 180 °C.
Cut the phyllo into 2-inch (5cm) strips. The last two might be around 2 and 1/2 inches wide.
Create a stack of four strips of phyllo (see video).
Drizzle butter between each layer, but do not drizzle any butter on top of the fourth layer (the top).
Pipe a line of almond filling across the center of the stack.
Fold the bottom half of the phyllo over the filling.
Drizzle with butter and roll it to form a rose.
Place the roses on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden all around.
As soon as they come out of the oven, drizzle the tops with the cool syrup.

Make ahead freezer dessert

The recipe makes about thirty roses, so it’s a great way to bake what you need and freeze the ones you don’t. Once the pastries are assembled, place the extra roses on a tray lined with parchment and then into the freezer until frozen solid. Transfer to a container or a freezer-safe bag. They will keep fresh frozen for up to 2 months. Bake them from frozen in a 350 °F oven until golden and crispy, and top with cool syrup as soon as they come out of the oven.

Greek Coffee pairs well with these sweet phyllo roses.

Serving

These roses are too beautiful to hide from the world. So, put on a pot of coffee and invite some friends over or serve them at a get-together. You can serve them warm or cool, so it does not matter if the gathering is at your house or someone else’s. If you like a little crunch, sprinkle the roses with some sliced almonds. Creamy ice cream or homemade whipped cream would go perfectly with the roses to give your guests a more generous dessert. I wouldn’t be upset if you drizzled the roses with melted chocolate or ganache, either! Just make sure your serving platter is as pretty as they are for the most dramatic effect! Kali Orexi!