Kathy Tsaples' baklava

Name: Kathy Tsaples' baklava
Ingredients: 1 packet (approx. 375 g) of filo pastry; 4 cups of walnuts, chopped; 250g unsalted butter; 2tsp cinnamon; ½ tsp cloves, ground; ½ cup of caster sugar; cloves (as garnish); 1 wedge of lemon, plus a squeeze of lemon juice; 1 cup of honey; 2 cups of water; 3 cups of sugar

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Kathy Tsaples is known among Melbourne's Prahran Market as the Sweet Greek. There, she runs a stall by the same name. "Everybody knows about Baklava. There are so many variations of it depending on where it comes from and who it is made by," she says. "Our Baklava is a traditional one using filo pastry and walnuts. I’m sure you will enjoy it." This recipe is an extract from Sweet Greek - Simple Food & Sumptuous Feasts.

1 packet (approx. 375 g) of filo pastry
4 cups of walnuts, chopped
250g unsalted butter
2tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cloves, ground
½ cup of caster sugar
cloves (as garnish)

Syrup

1 wedge of lemon, plus a squeeze of lemon juice
1 cup of honey
2 cups of water
3 cups of sugar

Method

1.

Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Combine the walnuts, caster sugar, cinnamon and ground cloves in a bowl.
2.

Melt the butter. Start with four pastry sheets and brush butter on each one.
3.

Spread some of the walnut mixture on the sheets.
4.

Add another four layers of pastry, buttering each one, then spread the walnuts again. Keep doing this until all the ingredients have finished. It’s good to finish with about six layers of filo pastry on top.
5.

Using a sharp knife, score the baklava into diamonds, then pour any remaining butter over the top. Place a clove on each diamond and bake for about 45 minutes.
6.

Create the syrup by boiling the water, sugar, honey, lemon juice and the wedge of lemon for about 10 minutes. Let cool.
7.

Once the Baklava is out of the oven and while still hot, pour the cooled syrup over the top.