NELMARIE SE BAKLAVA
350 g walnuts
350 g almonds
2 tbs castor sugar
4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
Mix all the above together.
Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C
25 sheets phyllo pastry
200 g butter
Brush melted butter on the bottom and sides of a large baking pan.
Place 1 sheet of pastry on parchment paper brush with butter, sprinkle with nut mix.
Add next sheet of pastry on top of previous one. Repeat until you have 5 sheets of pastry. Stuck in the sides and roll gently, cut into 8 cm rolls. Continue until all the ingredients are used. Pour any leftover butter over the baklava, then place pan into the oven and bake for 40 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and pour all the syrup over the baklava.
Syrup:
2 ½ cups sugar
1 ¾ cups water
1 lemon rind
5 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup honey
Combine all ingredients except the honey in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, for 5-10 minutes to thicken syrup. Remove from heat, pour through a sieve into a large heat-proof jug. Discard spices. Stir in the honey, then allow to cool to room temperature. When the baklava comes out of the oven, pour all the syrup over hot baklava. Let stand (uncovered) overnight. I’ve noticed the syrup works better when its poured over when its still hot, so I’d suggest to reheat it before pouring it over to ensure a juicy baklava.
Let stand (uncovered) overnight.
Recipe and photo: Nelmarie Petzer
