Baklava

Recipe by Melissa ThorburnCourse: DessertCuisine: Greek, TurkishDifficulty: Medium
Servingsservings
Prep time

30

minutes
Cooking time

1

hour 

Ingredients

  • Filling
  • 1 cup whole raw almonds

  • 1 cup walnuts or pecan nuts

  • 1 cup hazelnuts

  • 2 tsp cinnamon, ground

  • 1/2 tsp mixed spice, ground

  • 1 375g packet filo pastry & plenty of extra virgin olive oil for brushing over sheets of pastry

  • Syrup
  • 1 cup raw sugar

  • 1 cup apple syrup

  • 1 Cinnamon stick

  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice

  • Sliced almonds for sprinkling over the top before serving

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.

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