Baklava always looks incredibly impressive but is actually deceptively simple to make. The ingredients of nuts and honey were considered by Turkish sultans to be aphrodisiacs, and spices were thought to fine tune this property - perhaps that’s why it was a favourite all the way from the grandest palace to the street market!

BAKLAVA BLEND (1 portion = 1 tbsp): cinnamon, allspice, green cardamon, rose, nutmeg, cloves

May contain CELERY, MUSTARD and SESAME. Allergens are listed in CAPITALS

Baklava Recipe:

You Need: 

• 8 sheets of filo pastry (approx.200g)
• 200g pistachios, walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts (or a mix of any unsalted nuts) - crushed or ground to a fine texture
• 50g dates - roughly chopped
• 200g honey
• ½ lemon
• 80g butter - melted

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6   
• Mix the nuts and dates with ⅔ of the BAKLAVA BLEND
• Cut the filo sheets into 2 or 3 so each sheet fits your baking tray neatly
• Brush the base of the tray with the melted butter then lay 2 sheets of filo in the base, brushing each one with butter as you go
• Sprinkle over ⅛ of the nut and date filling then repeat with another 2 layers of filo, brushing each layer with butter
• Repeat this, laying another 2 sheets of filo, then another ⅛ of the filling, until all the filling and filo is used up, brushing each filo layer with butter and adding a final brushing of butter to the top layer
• Carefully cut the baklava into small squares or diamonds all the way through to the base
• Bake for 20 minutes or until the filo is golden-brown and crispy
• Heat the honey with the juice of the ½ lemon, 2 tbsp water and the remaining BAKLAVA BLEND for 2 minutes or until slightly reduced
• Pour the hot honey syrup over the top of the baklava and leave to cool