Baklava

Ingredients

• 12 ounces phyllo pastry
• 2/3 cup butter, melted
• 2 cups walnuts, chopped
• 1 cup almonds, chopped
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• sugar syrup
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 3 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 slice lemon zest (thin strip)

Directions

1. 1

   Preheat oven to 325.

2. 2

   Butter the base and sides of a 13x9 baking dish.

3. 3

   Place 10 sheets of phyllo, seperately, into the pan, brushing each sheet with the melted butter.

4. 4

   Mix together the nuts, sugar, cinnamon and cloves and spread half of this mixture over the pastry.

5. 5

   Layer another 3 sheets of pastry over the nut mixture, burshing each sheet with the melted butter.

6. 6

   Spread over the remaining nut mixture and top with the remaining pastry sheets, each brushed with melted butter.

7. 7

   Brush the top sheet with melted butter again and slice through the top layers with a very sharp knife to create diamond shapes. Sprinkle lightly with water to prevent the pastry from curling and lifting.

8. 8

   Bake for 1 hour.

9. 9

   Meanwhile, prepare the sugar syrup. Place all syrup ingredients in a saucepan and heat until the sugar has dissolved. Heat to boiling for 10 minutes, stirring often.

10. 10

    Remove from heat and cool. Strain, and pour over the baklava when it is removed from the oven. Let syrup soak in for 3 hours before cutting and serving.