Spiced Baklava - National Cookbook Month

As October is National Cookbook Month we wanted to share with you some of the recipes from Emma’s cookbooks!

The following recipe comes from Emma’s Home Deli Recipes cookbook and is perfect in the run up to Christmas! Go ahead and treat yourself! 

Those with a sweet tooth will love this rich Middle Eastern sweetmeat. This version is made with layers of crisp filo pastry, filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with a lightly spiced rose water syrup.

Makes about 34

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour

Ingredients

165g/5¾oz unsalted butter, plus extra

for greasing

20 sheets of filo, each sheet 25 x 20cm/

10 x 8in

80g/2¾oz/½ cup unsalted shelled

pistachios, finely chopped

80g/2¾oz/½ cup blanched almonds,

finely chopped

finely grated zest of 1 orange

2 tbsp granulated sugar

Syrup:

300g/10½oz/heaped 1¹âˆ•³ cups granulated sugar

juice of ½ lemon

6 cardamom pods, split

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp rose water

Method

Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas 3 and lightly grease a 26 x 20cm/10½ x 8in baking tin with butter.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat. Lay 10 sheets of the filo, one at a time, in the prepared tin and brush each sheet with melted butter before adding the next. Keep the remaining filo covered with a damp kitchen towel to prevent it drying out.

Mix together the nuts, orange zest and sugar and spread the mixture over the filo in an even layer.

Layer the remaining filo on top of the nut mixture, brushing each sheet with butter as before. Using a sharp knife, cut a criss-cross pattern into the top layers of filo to make a diamond pattern.

Bake for 45 minutes until the top is crisp and golden. Leave to cool slightly.

Now make the syrup. Heat 300ml/10½fl oz/scant 1¼ cups water in a small pan with the sugar, lemon juice, cardamom and cinnamon. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then increase the heat and boil until the liquid becomes syrupy; this will take about 15 minutes. Stir in the rose water. Remove the cardamom pods.

Using the cuts as a guide, cut the baklava into diamonds, then pour the syrup over the top, letting it soak into the cuts. Leave to cool, remove from the tin and serve.

Image:

From The Bay Tree Home Deli Recipes by Emma MacDonald © Nourish Books 2013, commissioned photography by Toby Scott

Recipe:
The Bay Tree Home Deli Recipes © Emma MacDonald 2013 published by Nourish Books, London
Hardback
£20.00

Banner Images:

From The Bay Tree Preserving by Emma MacDonald, Nourish Books 2014
From The Bay Tree Home Deli Recipes by Emma MacDonald, Nourish Books 2013