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Honey, rose & pistachio baklava
Martha Collison's freshly baked batch of this will disappear in no time if you’re not careful. If there is a more moreish treat than baklava out there, she says, I’m yet to find it.
Vegetarian
Makes20
CourseDessert
Prepare45 mins
Cook45 mins
Total time1 hr 30 mins
PlusPreparation time 45 minutes + soaking
Ingredients
150g walnuts
75g blanched whole almonds
150g pack pistachio kernels
1 tsp ground cinnamon
150g butter
2 x 270g packs Jus-Rol Filo Pastry sheets
2 tsp Cooks’ Ingredients Rose Petals, to serve
For the syrup
125g caster sugar
150g orange blossom honey
1 tsp rose water
Method
Preheat the oven to 180ºC, gas mark 4. Put
the walnuts, almonds and 100g pistachios in
a food processor and blitz to a chunky powder.
Stir through the cinnamon and set aside.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Using a
pastry brush, grease the bottom and sides of a
23x23cm baking tin with some of the melted
butter. Unwrap the filo from the packets. Cut
each sheet in ½, then trim the stack of pastry
so it fits perfectly into your tin. You should
end up with 28 sheets of pastry. Cover with a
damp tea towel to stop the sheets drying out
and cracking.
Lay a sheet of filo into the bottom of the tin
and brush liberally with melted butter. Repeat
the process with 9 more sheets, stacking them
on top of each other and brushing with butter.
Sprinkle ½ the ground nut mixture on top
of the filo, spreading it right to the edges of
the tin. Top with 4 more layers of pastry, each
brushed with butter, then sprinkle some of the
remaining nut mixture on top and repeat. Top
with the remaining 10 sheets of filo and butter.
Brush the top with butter and use a sharp knife
to slice the baklava into diamond shapes. (It’s
easier to cut the baklava before it’s baked, and
also allows the syrup to soak into the pastry
later.) Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the top is
golden and crisp to the touch.
While the baklava is baking, make the syrup.
Put the sugar in a large saucepan with the
honey and 200ml water. Bring to a gentle
simmer and bubble for 10 minutes, or until
the liquid has reduced by about 1/3. It should
be thick and syrupy. Stir in the rose water.
When the baklava is baked, slice through
the cuts once again to make room for the
syrup. Pour the hot syrup all over the baklava
and leave for 2 hours to soak in and cool
completely. Blitz the remaining pistachio nuts
to a powder, then sprinkle over the top, along
with a few rose petals. This will keep for up
to 2 weeks stored in an airtight container.
Cook’s tip
Use whatever nuts you have in the cupboard for this recipe. Try to leave the baklava for the full 2 hours to soak, it really makes a difference.