Baklava

Method

• step 1

  Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. To make the syrup, melt the butter and sugar in a pan and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Add the honey and simmer for a few more minutes. Pour in 250ml of water, the lemon juice and zest, salt and the orange juice and zest. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the syrup has thickened slightly.

• step 2

  Add all the chopped nuts, ground almonds, cinnamon, cardamom and 50g of the melted butter to a bowl and mix.

• step 3

  To assemble the baklava, brush a 20cm x 30cm deep baking dish with melted butter. Brush 4 of the filo sheets with melted butter then layer up in the bottom of the dish. Add ¹/3 of the filling mix, top with another 4 sheets of buttered filo and add another ¹/3 of the mix. Top with another 4 buttered sheets, then the remaining mixture and finish with a final layer of 4 buttered sheets.

• step 4

  Using a sharp knife, gently cut a classic criss-cross baklava pattern into the pastry all the way through to the bottom layer. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the baklava is deep golden and crisp. Remove the baklava from the oven and drizzle over the salted honey syrup, then put back in the oven for a further 5 minutes to crisp up. Top with extra sea salt and leave to cool before serving.