Baklava
This is the one I always make. It's easy and straightforward and very tasty.
Inspired by Tess
Mallos
30 pieces
Ingredients
20 filo sheets
¾ cup melted butter
2 cups walnuts, chopped
1 cup almonds, chopped
¼ cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
Syrup
1 ½ cup sugar
1 ½ cup water
¼ cup honey
Lemon rind of one whole lemon
Cinnamon bark, 1 piece
3 whole cloves
2 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
Butter sides of baking dish, 13 X 9 X 2.
Place one sheet of filo inside dish and butter it. Repeat with the next 8 sheets till you have
nine buttered sheets in the bottom of the dish.
Spread half of the nut mixture on top of the filo sheets.
Lay down two more buttered sheets of filo.
Cover with the rest of the nuts mixture.
Butter and place the remaining sheets of filo on
top. The last few make sure that the
sheets are all tucked in under the top layer.
Score the baklava all the way to the bottom of the dish
with a triangular design.
Drizzle some water over the top and bake in a 325 oven
for 30 minutes. Turn around the dish in
the oven and bake for another 30 minutes.
Don’t let it get too brown! It
should be golden brown not dark brown.
While the baklava is cooking, make the syrup.
Combine the water and sugar and honey and bring to a boil
in a pan on top of the stove. After it
boils, add the remaining ingredients except for the lemon juice and simmer for
15 minutes. Add the lemon juice and let
it simmer for another 2 minutes and then strain and cool.
When the baklava is finished baking, pour the entire pan
of syrup over the top of the dessert and let it soak up into the pastry.
Let it sit till cool and then recut the scored lines and
serve!
