Preparation

honey:
Mix the sugar, water, lemon juice, lemon zest, cinnamon and cloves in a medium saucepan. bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. lower the temperature and continue until the honey thickens, about 10 minutes. remove from heat and remove the lemon peel, cinnamon and cloves. add the orange blossom or rose water and let cool.

armed:
mix the ground walnuts, sugar and ground cinnamon in a bowl.

preheat the oven to 350 ° f (180 ° c). Brush melted butter on bottom and sides of 12 x 15 x 3 inch (30 x 37 x 7.5 cm) baking pan. place the phylo leaves one by one, brushing each one with butter before placing the next.

place about 8 phylo leaves, sprinkle a third of the walnut mixture with sugar. place 6 to 8 more sheets following the same procedure. sprinkle with half of the remaining walnuts. repeat the leaves, cover with the rest of the nuts and finish with 6 to 8 phylo leaves, always with butter between the leaves. brush the top sheet generously with butter. put in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

With a knife, cut the baklava into 25 to 30 rhombuses.

Bake for 30 minutes then reduce oven to 300 ° F (150 ° C) and bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

remove from the oven and immediately drizzle the baklava with the hot honey. let cool and serve.

Ingredients

  • honey: 1 ¼ cup sugar
  • ½ cup of water
  • 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
  • 1 piece of lemon peel
  • 1 piece of cinnamon
  • 2 whole cloves
  • 1 tablespoon orange blossom water or rose water (optional)
  • assembled: 250g (½ lb) coarsely chopped walnuts and almonds
  • 3 spoonfuls of sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, melted and clarified
  • 28 to 32 phylo pasta sheets