The Bake-Off season is upon us!! Here’s a recipe for a delicious Middle Eastern sweet treat, a perfect pick me up on an autumn day and great for using up leftover nuts and seeds you may have lurking in the bottom of your jars. Works well with any of the suggested products here – mix and match with whatever you’ve got!
Easy Baklava Recipe
You will need:
(**available at Scoop and Scales)
400g nuts**, finely chopped (almond, pistachio, walnut)
3 tbsps seeds** (sesame, poppy, chia)
1 tsp ground cinnamon**
0.5 tsp ground cloves
225g filo pastry
50-75g melted butter
For the Syrup:
100g soft brown sugar**
4 tbsps runny honey**
2 tbsps lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
what to do:
- Brush a 23cm/9inch shallow oven-proof dish with melted butter. Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas Mark 4.
- Mix together nuts and seeds, cinnamon and cloves
- Brush 4 sheets of filo with melted butter and layer in the bottom of the dish. Spoon half the nut mixture onto the pastry, then repeat with filo then nut mixture, finishing with a layer of filo. Tuck the edges of the filo down the sides of the dish.
- Score into diamonds, then bake for about 45 mins (cover after about 30 mins if browning too much)
- Make the syrup by dissolving sugar and honey in 90ml (6tbsps) water over a gentle heat. Allow to simmer for 5 mins, then remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and vanilla. When baklava comes out of oven spoon the warm syrup over it. Allow to cool before scoffing with a cuppa!