Baklava

I'm posting this in anticipation of New Year - I think baklava would make a  kick-ass addition to a New Year's party spread, and I'm not just saying that because I'm currently in Istanbul!

A somewhat non-traditional festive item, I was inspired by some leftover filo pastry (see: Christmas samosas). I love baklava but have never had the nerve to make my own. UNTIL NOW!

This, for me, is the perfect antidote to the normal Christmas fare. As much as I love my tins of garishly coloured and highly flavoured chocolates (and I do, the wrappers in my bin tell a tale..), these delicate, nutty, nibbly, shiny, sticky morsels are just perfection, and made an epic Christmas day dessert!

They’re fairly easy to make as long as you pre-buy your filo, which is totally acceptable because Mary Berry does it, damnit! I did find mine a little sticky and tricky to extricate from the pan, but it wasn’t the end of the world.

Also, I’ve gone a bit non-traditional by adding cinnamon (because it’s Christmas) and orange juice (instead of orange blossom, because I didn’t think ahead and buy it), and cooking a bit more after the syrup has been placed on. I have it on good authority that this is key to a good pastry.

Makes one lovely tray of deliciousness 

Ingredients

• 120g butter, melted
• 220g pistachios
• 60g ground almonds
• ½ tsp salt
• Zest 1 small orange
• ½ tsp cardamom
• 6 sheets of filo pastry, halved
• 120g granulated sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Juice of ½ orange

Method

Stick the oven on at 160 degrees.

Blitz the pistachios in a food processor until thick crumbs are formed.

Whole..

BLITZED!

Add to a bowl with the almonds, salt, orange zest and cardamom and mix well.

Add 3 tbsp of the melted butter into the mixture and stir until it evenly spread through and glistening.

Now, get going with the filo. Open out the sheet and half it along the short edge.

Spread out a generous amount of butter on a small baking tray (about 20x30cm).

Place one halved filo sheet on and then top generously with butter. Continue with 4 more sheets, layering each on top with a layer of butter in between.

Spread the crumbly nutty mixture on top, being careful not to press down too hard.

Now, layer the remaining filo on top, with butter in between, as before.

This is the top layer - spread generously with butter on this one!

Cut into a diamond pattern.

Bake in the oven until golden, which took 25-30 minutes for mine.

Meanwhile, make the sugar syrup – in a small saucepan, add the sugar, cinnamon, 75ml of water, and the juice of lemon and orange. Heat until the sugar has dissolved, and simmer for 10 minutes until clear and thickened slightly.

When the baklava is golden, remove from oven and drizzle over the syrup.

Pre-syrup

Post-syrup, all glistening and sweet.

Return to the oven for a further 5 minutes.

OMG IT'S MAGNIFICENT

Allow to cool, then slice and serve!

Amazing on its own or with vanilla icecream. I had mine cold for Christmas dinner dessert with lashings of fresh custard. DREAMY.

How can we add calories to baklava, you say? CUSTARD.