Baklava

Ingredients

• 500 g filo pastry sheets
• 400 g walnuts, chopped
• 250 g butter, melted
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 500 g sugar
• 400 ml water
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp honey

Steps

1. 1
   Make the syrup first: simmer the sugar, water, lemon juice and honey for 10 minutes, then cool completely. Cold syrup on hot pastry is the whole trick.
2. 2
   Heat the oven to 170C. Butter a deep baking tin.
3. 3
   Layer 8 filo sheets in the tin, brushing each with melted butter.
4. 4
   Mix the walnuts with the cinnamon and spread a third over the pastry.
5. 5
   Add 4 buttered sheets, another third of the nuts, and repeat, finishing with 8 buttered sheets on top.
6. 6
   Cut the baklava into diamonds all the way through before baking — you cannot cut it neatly afterwards.
7. 7
   Bake 50 minutes until deep golden. Pour the cold syrup evenly over the hot baklava and leave at least 6 hours, uncovered, before serving.