Nutty Baklava

This syrup-soaked pastry is gently spiced with cinnamon and cardamom, and has a blend of pecans, pistachios and walnuts.

Ingredients

200g butter, plus extra for greasing
200g pistachios
50g walnuts
50g pecans
3 tbsp honey
2 x 270g pack filo pastry

For the syrup

250g golden caster sugar
50g honey
2 tsp orange blossom water
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cardamom (from 3 pods)

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Preparation:

♦ Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and grease a 21cm x 21cm square cake tin with butter. Chop the nuts into small pieces using a food processor, taking care not to blitz them to a paste. Put them into a bowl, stir in the honey and a pinch of salt and set aside.

♦ Melt the butter in a pan over a low heat. Cut the first pack of filo pastry sheets in half (so that they fit the tin). Put one sheet in the tin and brush with the melted butter. Lay another sheet on top and brush with butter again, keep layering like this until the whole pack is used up.

♦ Spread the honey and nut mixture over the pastry and press it down lightly with the back of a spoon. Open the other pack of filo, cut in half and continue the layering and buttering process. When you reach the last sheet pour any remaining butter over the top to finish. Use a sharp knife to cut deep lines into the pastry to create either squares or diamond shapes then bake in the oven for 20 mins.

♦ Reduce the heat to 150C/130C fan/gas 2 and bake for a further 45 mins. While the baklava cooks put all the syrup ingredients into a saucepan and add 200ml water. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved then boil the mixture for 8-10 mins or until it has reduced to the consistency of runny honey.

♦ When the baklava comes out of the oven, pour the warm syrup over the top, allowing it to run into the lines you have cut. Leave it to soak in and serve when it’s completely cold.