Serving baklava vibes without the baklava drama. This dessert brings all the flaky, sweet, irresistible energy with none of the labor-intensive chaos. Cute, delicious, and effortlessly impressive — just how I like my desserts.

Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 1 hr
Total Time: 1 hr and 30 mins
Servings: 20

The vibe

It looks like you picked it up from a bakery… but nope, you made it at home and lived to tell about it.

Crispy layers, buttery phyllo, pistachios, and just enough rose to feel a little fancy without getting weird.

Ingredients:

1 package of phyllo dough (16 oz)
3 sticks of melted butter
1 can of evaporated milk (12 fl oz)
½ cup of raw shelled pistachios (crushed)
(food grade) edible dry rose petals for garnish

Syrup Ingredients:

1⅓ cups sugar
¾ cup of water
½ tsp rose water
⅛ tsp ground cardamom powder
*Rose water, fresh pistachios, and edible dry rose petals can be bought online (Amazon) or at international food markets.

Get the full printable instructions with measurements at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.

Real Life Tips

Keep phyllo covered or it dries out fast
Don’t stress about perfect layers—it all bakes together
Let it rest before serving so the syrup can do its thing

Rose water, raw shelled pistachios, edible rose petals, evaporated milk, butter, sugar and ground cardamom on the counter

Step 1: Place the butter into a microwave-safe dish and microwave for about 45 seconds until melted.

Use a basting brush or paper towel to grease muffin tins with some of the melted butter.

Slice the chilled phyllo dough into ½-inch thick pieces and place them in greased muffin tins. This recipe makes approximately 20 pieces.

Using a basting brush, and applying melted butter to each muffin tin.

1/2 inch cut phyllo pieces cut on wax paper

Step 2: Preheat oven to 350º F.

Pour approx. 2½ Tbsp of melted butter over each phyllo piece, ensuring enough butter reaches each layer, or the phyllo may end up dry.

*If needed, melt and add more butter, making sure to saturate each layer. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden and crispy.

Pouring melted butter over phyllo pieces while in muffin tin.

Melted butter over phyllo pieces in muffin tin

Step 3: While baking the phyllo, make the syrup by boiling all of the syrup ingredients in a pot over high heat until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside and let the syrup cool completely.

Step 4: Once the phyllo is finished baking, pour 1 Tbsp of evaporated milk over each phyllo piece while still in the muffin tins. Bake for an additional 6-8 minutes.

Pouring evaporated milk onto phyllo pieces in muffin tins

Soaked phyllo pieces with evaporated milk in muffin tin

Step 5: Remove the muffin tins from the oven and pour 1 Tbsp of the syrup over each of the phyllo pieces.

Let the phyllo cool slightly before removing it to a clean plate to garnish.

Garnish with crushed pistachios and dry rose petals. *You will have extra syrup left over.

*Instructions for crushing pistachios: Place the pistachios inside a Ziploc bag, and hammer the nuts over the bag several times with a rolling pin until they are the desired consistency.

Use a rolling pin to crush nuts inside of a ziploc bag on the counter

crushed pistachios in ziploc bag on thecounter

*Caution-muffin tins will be hot when removed from the oven!

Make It a Whole Moment

If you’re leaning into this slightly-fancy vibe:

Add our Walnut Chocolate Phyllo Dessert if you’re feeding a crowd

Pair with our Lemon Drop Martini

Or go full treat table with our No-Bake Banana Caramel Pudding

When to Make This

Dinner parties (when you want to impress without saying you tried)
Holidays
Anytime you want something a little different