Baklava

Baklava is a delicious Middle Eastern sweet. Baklava is light crispy pastry soaked in sweet, sticky honey and finally topped off with lots of nuts. This delicious Middle Eastern sweet is extremely rich and decadent perfect with a cup of coffee on a lazy afternoon.

These sweets are very easy to make, all it involves is layering pastry, honey and nuts but the results are stunning. They keep for a few days so you can make a large batch and have baklava throughout the week as a treat after dinner or with your lunch. They are also fabulous to have ready in the fridge when guests pop round and they make a wonderful, elegant change from biscuits with coffee, if your guest have sweet teeth and love honey, then these little treats are perfect.

Baklava is wonderful finger food; they are perfectly small, bite size sweets. If you are having a fabulous party where all the dishes are appetizers and you need something equally as elegant and easy to eat baklava is perfect. Baklava is also a great sweet for a buffet; you can make it before hand and serve it cold, leaving you plenty of time to do more party planning or sit back, relax and enjoy the party.

Ingredients

For Baklava

• 300g shelled pistachio nuts
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 600g filo pastry
• 125g butter, melted

For the Syrup

• 300ml water
• 350g caster sugar
• 125ml clear honey
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 1 tsp whole cloves

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170C or gas mark 4.
2. Grind the pistachio in a food processor until coarsely ground and mix in ground cinnamon.
3. Lightly grease an ovenproof dish.
4. Lay the filo pastry into the dish, brushing each sheet with melted butter before placing the next layer on top. After six layers, scatter over 1/3 of the crushed nuts.
5. Add 6 more layers of filo pastry into the dish and brush the top layer with butter.
6. With a shape knife cut the layered pastry into 4 x 5 cm diamonds, cut all the way through the layered pastry.
7. Bake for 40 minutes, until crisp and golden.
8. Place all the syrup ingredients into a saucepan, stirring constantly and bring to a simmer. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes.
9. Remove the baklava from the oven and pour half the syrup on, allow soak for 10 minutes then spoon the rest on top, allow the baklava to cool before removing from dish.