Baklava

Total Time: 2 hrs 15 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr 30 mins Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 15
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest (no pith)
• 6 cloves (whole)
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 3 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
• 2 tablespoons syrup (orange blossom)
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon (ground)
• 1/2 teaspoon clove (ground)
• 1/2 lb almonds (ground)
• 1/2 cup walnuts (ground)
• 1/2 lb pistachios (ground)
• 1 lb butter (clarified)
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 2 lbs phyllo dough (defrosted)

Recipe

• 1 to create a sachet out of cheesecloth, cut about a 6 inch square piece 3 layers thick.
• 2 place lemon zest, cloves and cinnamon stick in the center of the cheesecloth square; bring the edges toward the center and twist them together. tie them together with string, forming a little pouch also known as a sachet.
• 3 in a sauce pan, combine the water, 3 cups sugar, and orange blossom syrup together.
• 4 add sachet to sauce pan mixture and bring to a boil, stirring frequently, on medium heat.
• 5 reduce heat and simmer mixture for 15 minutes stirring frequently.
• 6 remove sachet and allow mixture to cool to room temperature.
• 7 mix the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, ground cinnamon, ground cloves and nuts together (set aside).
• 8 in another sauce pan, melt pound of butter (reserving teaspoon butter) remove from heat and strain to make clarfied butter.
• 9 preheat the oven to 300 degrees fahrenheit.
• 10 on a jelly roll pan, grease pan with the reserved teaspoon of butter.
• 11 lay a sheet of phyllo dough out flat on pan, and paint it with clarified butter.
• 12 then place another sheet on top of the first and paint it with butter.
• 13 do the same thing, six more times, until 8 layers are on top of each other.
• 14 sprinkle a handful of nut mixture over buttered phyllo dough evenly.
• 15 add two more sheets of buttered phyllo dough on top of nut mixture.
• 16 then add another handful of nuts and sprinkle over buttered phyllo sheet. do the same thing until you have 8 sheets of phyllo dough left.
• 17 place the last eight sheets on top of the nuts, painting them each with the butter.
• 18 cut the baklava into either diamond or square shapes. make sure the knife cuts through the bottom phyllo sheet.
• 19 paint tops of baklawa with remaining butter.
• 20 bake baklava for 45 minutes or until golden and flaky.
• 21 remove from oven and drizzle cooled syrup over entire pastry.
• 22 enjoy!