| METHOD Mix all the filling ingredients in a
bowl.
Liberally butter the base and sides of an elongated or round baking
dish. Measure the length of the fyllo against the baking dish roughly
and, allowing 2 cm extra approximately for shrinkage, cut to length with a sharp
knife. Brush each layer of fyllo with melted butter and spread over the
base of the container as evenly as possible. Once you have used 5 layers of
pastry, sprinkle a thin layer of filling all over the surface and add 3 more
layers. Sprinkle a thin layer of filling and place 2 more sheets of fyllo
on top. Sprinkle on all the remaining filling, spreading it evenly, and cover
with 7-8 more layers of fyllo, brushing individually with butter. Fold
any excess pastry on either of the sides over the filling and brush it with
butter. Brush the top layer liberally with butter in order to get it crisp and
golden. Trim any excess pastry with a small sharp knife, keeping in mind that it
will also shrink. Cut the top layers of fyllo carefully, either
diagonally into diamond shapes or straight, which will result in square or
elongated pieces. Be careful not to cut right down to the base, but only the top
layers. This is done in order to make cutting and lifting the pieces out, once
it is cooked, much easier and efficient. Using the tips of four fingers,
sprinkle drops of water all over the surface and cook it in a preheated oven,
gas no.5/ 375 grades F / 190 grades C, for 15 minutes; lower the heat to gas
no.4/ 350 grades F/ l80 grades C and cook for a further 20 minutes.
In the
meantime, prepare the syrup. Place all the syrup ingredients, apart from the
honey, in a saucepan and stir to dissolve the sugar. Simmer for 6-8 minutes, add
the honey and simmer for a further 5 minutes until it thickens slightly. Let the
baklava cool down then pour the hot but not boiling syrup slowly all
over, through a strainer. Let it stand and absorb the syrup. |
Print this recipe
