baklava dessert recipe

Baklava

Baklava syrup dessrt is a classic Greek pastry made with layers of buttered filo pastry; filled with cinnamon spiced chopped nuts and soaked in a light syrup. It is crunchy, sweet and absolutely delicious.

baklava

Ingredients

1kg phyllo pastry
1/2kg walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 kg raw almonds, coarsely chopped
3tbsp finely ground cinnamon
1tbsp finely ground cloves
600g, approximately, fresh butter, melted

For the syrup:

6 cups sugar
500ml glucose, or, 500ml honey
1l (4 cups) water
the rind of two lemons, and two cinnamon sticks

Method

In a bowl, we combine the ingredients for the filling, that is, the nuts and the spices. We select an ovenproof dish according to the dimensions of our phyllo sheets, and we grease bottom and sides well with melted butter.

Layer the first 5 phyllo sheets, to form the base. Each sheet must be brushed well, but lightly, with melted butter, before layering the next phyllo sheet on top of it.

With a spoon, sprinkle over the whole surface of the phyllo some of the filling mixture. Continue layering each sheet of phyllo, brushing it with butter and sprinkling with nuts, until you have 4-5 sheets left.

We finish off the baklava dessert by layering the last 4-5 sheets. With a sharp knife, we score through the top layers of the baklava, either in a diamond grid, or square portions.

Pour more melted butter over the surface of the baklava, and we sprinkle it well with cold water. Bake in a preheated oven, at 180C, for approximately 50 minutes, until golden.

Let the ingredients for the syrup come to boil, and cook for 5 minutes. As soon as the baklava is done and taken out of the oven, pour the hot syrup over, spoon by spoon, making sure the whole baklava is well saturated. Let stand to allow the syrup to be absorbed, but do not cover, to ensure the baklava remains crispy.