Baklava

Any of you who have had the opportunity to travel in Eastern Europe or the Middle East will certainly be familiar with the recipe we’re making today: it is a sweet pastry as old as the world, and equally well-known. It’s baklava, a pastry made from filo pastry and nuts. As we said, it is particularly common throughout Central Asia, Iran, the Arab countries, Israel, Iran and the Balkan Peninsula including Greece, and is especially popular in Turkey. To make this pastry, which is rather complicated, you'll have to buy sheets of filo pastry and then add hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios, honey, sugar, lemon, cinnamon and more. Following our chef’s recipe you will be able to bring home a taste of the Middle East. Have you got the ingredients ready to make Baklava with us?

Melt the butter in a small pan. Coarsely chop the nuts by hand or in a blender and then mix in the grated zest of one lemon and the cinnamon. Now layer the dessert. Start by ensuring that each sheet of filo pastry is brushed with melted butter. Put 3 sheets of filo pastry on the bottom of a greased baking tin, then add a thin layer of chopped nuts, a layer of filo pastry, then a thick layer of chopped nuts, another layer of filo pastry, a thin layer of chopped nuts and 7 layers of filo pastry. Then cut into squares and then into triangles (see photos). Bake for 30 minutes at 180°C. While the cake is baking, prepare a syrup with water, sugar and honey. Bring it to the boil, and let it simmer for 10 minutes. When the pastry is cooked, take it from the oven and immediately pour all the syrup into the baking tray, flooding the cake while it is still boiling! Wait for it to cool completely and serve with a glass of water.