Baklava

Coarsely chop the nuts with the chef’s knife or in a food processor.

Set aside 4 tbsp of nut for decoration. Put the remainder in a bowl with 1/3 cup of sugar, cinnamon and cloves and mix well.

Heat the oven to 350 F. Lay a dish towel on a work surface and sprinkle it lightly with water. Thaw the phyllo dough package according the manufacturer’s instructions.

Unroll the sheets on the towel and then cover it with a second damp dish towel. When unrolling them I encountered several cracks and cuts in the sheets. Do not panic. They are easily repairable and do not make any difference in the dessert.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Brush a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with melted butter. Take a sheet of phyllo dough and carefully spread it in the pan, folding the sheet in such a way that it fits the pan.

Brush the layered sheet with butter and gently press it into the sides and corners of the pan.

Lay another sheet on top and brush with butter. Do the same with the third of the sheets. Once 1/3rd of the sheets have been used, scatter half the nut filling over the layers.

Layer another third of the sheets in the pan, buttering each one and pressing into the corners and sides. Then sprinkle the remaining half of the nut mixture evenly.

Layer the last third of the sheets, buttering them and pressing them the same way as we did with the previous layers. Brush the top most layer thoroughly with butter and pour any remainder of butter on the top

With a small knife, cut diagonal lines around ½ inch deep to mark out the shape. Do not press down too much when cutting.

Bake on low shelf for around 1 hr 15 mins (It took me exactly 1 hr) until golden.

Combine sugar and water in a saucepan and heat until dissolved, stirring occasionally. Pour in the honey and stir to combine. Boil without stirring until the syrup reaches a soft ball consistency (239F on a candy thermometer).

This takes anywhere from 30 mins-45 mins.

Remove the syrup from the heat and let it cool down to lukewarm temperature. Now add the juice from a lemon and the orange flower water or the vanilla extract.

Remove the pan from the oven and immediately pour the cool syrup evenly over the hot pastries. Pouring the syrup over the hot pastries enables better absorption.

With the chef’s knife cut along the marked lines almost to the bottom of the pan. Let the pastries cool.

Cut through the marked lines completely and carefully lift the pastries with a spatula and arrange them on a plate. Sprinkle the top with the reserved nuts and serve.