We made Baklava for this week's treat. Rich, sweet and filled with delicious aromatic nutty flavours. Why not try it this weekend?
Baklava
For the baklava:
Filo pastry 375 grams
Almonds 150 grams
Walnuts 180 grams
Pistachios 80 grams
Ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon
Ground cloves 1/3 teaspoon
Butter 250 grams
For the syrup:
Water 180 grams
Sugar 180 grams
Honey 80 grams
Lemon juice 1 lemon
Lightly grease a 20x30cm slice pan and set the oven to 180C.
Defrost the filo pastry. When thawed roll out the filo pastry and slice in half so that the sheets will fit in the. Cover with a damp tea towel or cheese cloth to keep it from drying out.
Place the almonds, walnuts, pistachios and spices in the TM bowl and chop at Speed 5 for 15 seconds. Remove from the TM bowl and set aside.
Place the butter in the TM bowl and melt at 90C Speed 3 for 90 seconds.
Place a sheet of filo pastry in the pan. Using a pastry brush, light cover with melted butter. Repeat 7 more times until it is 8 sheets thick, each sheet being brushed with melted butter.
Spoon on a thin layer of the nut mixture. Cover with three more sheets of filo, brushing each one with butter.
Continue to repeat the nut mixture and three buttered sheets of filo until the nut mixture is all used up. The top layer should be 8 filo sheets thick, each sheet brushed with butter. Do not worry if the sheets crinkle up a bit.
Cut into 24 equal sized squares or diamonds using a sharp knife.
Bake at 180C for 30-35 minutes or until lightly golden brown, and edges appear slightly crisp.
While baking, make the syrup. Place all syrup ingredients in the TM bowl. Cook at 100C Speed 3 for 15 minutes with the MC angled to allow the steam to escape.
Pour the syrup over the cooked Baklava and let cool for at least 4 hours.
Keeps for 4-5 days.