DELICIOUS BAKLAVA

Recipe posted by Lesdee Gloak Bam
Photo: Lesdee Gloak Bam
Makes 1 tray

• 250 g butter
• 300 g walnut pieces
• 125 g ground almonds
• 75 g pistachio kernels, slivered
• zest of 1 orange
• generous pinch of salt, optional
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 12 sheets of filo pastry (2 x 270 g packets)
• 250 g granulated or caster sugar
• juice of ½ lemon
• 1 tablespoon orange-blossom water, or to taste
• Melt the butter. Coarsely grind or chop the walnuts so you have a chunky rubble, then stir in the ground almonds and slivered pistachios, followed by the zest, salt (if using), cardamom and 5 tablespoons of melted butter. Mix well.
• Heat the oven to 160°C/315°F/gas mark 2.5.
• Use a tin about 30 x 25 cm and brush well with melted butter.
• Lay the filo out on a clear work surface near the tin, with the melted butter-and-nut mixture within easy reach.
• Line the tin with one sheet of filo and brush with melted butter.
• Continue in this way with five more sheets of filo.
• Spoon the nut mixture over the top evenly, but without pressing it down too firmly.
• Top with the rest of the filo, again brushing each sheet with butter before adding the next, and being particularly generous with the top.
• Use a sharp knife to cut through the layers in parallel lines to make diamond shapes. Bake for an hour.
• Meanwhile, put the sugar and lemon juice in a pan with 125 ml of water. Bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then simmer for about 10 minutes, until syrupy.
• Take off the heat and allow to cool slightly, then stir in the orange-blossom water to taste (brands vary greatly in strength, so add a little at a time). Set aside.
• When the baklava is golden, remove from the oven and turn up the heat to 180°C/350°F/gas mark four. Once it has come to temperature, pour the syrup over the top, especially along the lines, and put back in the oven for five minutes.
• Remove and leave to cool completely, when it should have absorbed all the syrup.
• Run a knife along the lines to loosen them before attempting to lever the pieces out of the tin.