Baklava

• servings: 30 small pieces

Ingredients

3 cups nuts

1½ tbsp sugar

1 tsp cinnamon (double if you prefer)

¼ tsp cloves

⅛ tsp salt

1 lb frozen filo dough, defrosted (or ‘phyllo’)

1½ cups clarified butter, warmed (or ghee)

1¼ cups sugar

⅓ cup honey

¾ cup water

2 strips lemon zest (or double lemon juice)

1 tsp lemon juice

1 whole cinnamon stick

3 cloves

⅛ tsp salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Chop your nuts finely in a food processor along with the first listed amounts of sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and salt.

Unfold the defrosted filo dough and cut to fit your baking dish. Best done by laying your pile of sheets into the dish and cutting from there. These don’t have to be removed, but may be at risk of burning when baking. Cover dough you aren’t actively using with a damp cloth to prevent the sheet from drying out.

Brush the bottom of your baking dish with butter. Place one sheet on top of this and brush the top of the sheet with butter. Repeat this with 7 more sheets. Once you have 8 total layers, spread ⅓ of the nut and spice mixture evenly over the top layer.

Repeat the layer process but add 6 more sheets, then the nut mixture, then another 8 sheets, then the last of the nuts. Cover the last nut mixture layer with 3-4 sheets of filo dough buttered the same way as before, but leave the topmost layer unbuttered.

Using a sharp knife, slice the baklava into whatever shape you desire. Diamond or square patterns work best in a rectangular pan. Be sure to slice all the way through to the bottom layer, or it may be hard to separate portions after baking.

Bake at 350 F until golden and flaky, about 50-60 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. During this time, combine the lower listed sugar, honey, water, lemon, cinnamon, cloves, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly until sugar has completely dissolved. Should take around 5 minutes. Once combined, transfer to the fridge to cool. Once cooled, strain the solids out of the mixture.

Once the baklava has finished baking and has been pulled out of the oven, pour the cooled syrup evenly into the cracks between whatever shape you cut the pieces into, reserving a small amount of the syrup. Once the baklava is cooled, drizzle the rest of the syrup over the top. Garnish with any extra chopped nuts you want.

Let the baklava sit for a few hours, covered with foil, or serve immediately.

Notes

A sweet middle-eastern pastry consisting of thin sheets of Filo dough, chopped nuts, sweet syrup, and many spices. A very satisfying eating experience, and a great dessert for crowds. For the 3 cups of nuts in the recipe, walnuts or pistachios would be traditional, but any kind you prefer would work fine. I used 2 cups of hazelnuts and 1 cup of almonds and it was delicious.