Directions

• Preheat oven to 160°C.
• Chop the nuts either by hand or in a food processor. Try not to chop too fine.
• Place nuts in a mixing bowl and add the other filling ingredients and mix well.
• Lightly grease a baking dish, approximately 20cm x 30cm. Ensure the dish is slightly smaller than the length and width of the filo pastry.
• Line the baking dish with one sheet of filo at a time and brush each sheet with oil. For the base, line with 10 sheets of filo.
• Spread the nut and spice mixture and pack down firmly.
• Cover the nut mixture with the remaining sheets of filo, one sheet at a time, brushing with oil. Brush top layer. Trim the pastry around the sides and score the surface into diamond portions.
• Place in a warm oven and bake for 1 hour, monitor for surface browning. Cover with foil if browning too quickly.
• While Baklava is baking, prepare the syrup. Add the syrup ingredients into a saucepan and bring to the boil, reduce heat to a simmer for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Once the baking is complete, remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.
• Slowly drizzle the syrup over the Baklava. This final step is very important for the success of the Baklava
• Sit for 5-6 hours or overnight to allow the syrup to soak through.
• Slice into diamond shaped portions and serve with a sprinkling of almond slices and vegan cream or yoghurt of choice.