Enjoy a taste of traditional Turkey cuisine, the baklava is sweet and oh so delicious, once you try this once you won't want to stop making this desert.

Ingredients:

Syrup: 

1 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Runny Honey
1 Cinnamon Stick
1/2 Ground Cardamom
1 Lemon, Juice of , plus 4 peel
1 Cup Water
Optional: 2 Tbsp Light Corn Syrup 

Base:

3 1/2 Chopped nuts, pistachios and walnuts
1/2 Cup Sugar
2 tsp Ground Cinnamon 
1/4 tsp Ground Cardamom 
1/2 Cup Melted Butter 
375g Filo Pastry 

Method: 

1. Set oven to 170C.

2. To make syrup place sugar, honey, cinnamon, cardamom, lemon, water and corn syrup in a pot. Simmer for 15 minutes until syrupy and reduced slightly. Set aside to cool.

3. Mix together nuts, sugar, cinnamon and cardamom.

4. Brush base of a 20 x 30cm tin with melted butter. Trim sides of filo to fit tin. Spread out 2 sheets of filo then spread with butter. Continue until base is 8 layers thick. Sprinkle a third of nuts and sugar over.

5. Layer with another 2 sheets of filo, butter and another third of the nuts, then repeat. For the top, layer 2 filo sheets and butter until it is 6-8 layers thick. Butter top. Cut four even strips lengthwise down the tin. Cut on a diagonal into diamonds.

6. Bake for 30 minutes. If too brown after 10 minutes, cover with foil and continue to cook. Remove foil for the last 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and pour half the syrup over. Cool for 30 minutes then add remaining syrup. Baklava will keep for up to two weeks.

 

This recipe has been duplicated from NZ Herald.