Coconut Baklava a delicious Greek sweet treat and really isn’t as hard as you would think.
Method
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Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
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Lightly grease a rectangular shallow tin and line the base with baking paper.
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Place the coconut, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in a large bowl and stir to combine.
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Cut the stack of filo sheets in half width ways, so it will fit into the tin.
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Brush a sheet of filo liberally with melted butter, top with another sheet and repeat until you have four layers of pastry. Repeat with the remaining filo to give five stacks in total, each with four layers.
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Put one stack of filo in the tin and brush the top of the filo with butter.Evenly spread one-quarter of the coconut mixture over the filo, top with another filo stack and brush with butter.
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Repeat with remaining coconut mixture and pastry stacks, finishing with a layer of filo. Liberally brush the top with butter, then score into diamond shapes using a sharp knife, making the cuts about 1cm deep (do not cut all the way through at this stage).
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Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until golden and crisp.
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Meanwhile, make the syrup. Combine 400ml water, the sugar, lemon juice, honey and orange blossom water in a saucepan and stir until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Cool the syrup.
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While the baklava is still very hot, pour over the cool syrup.
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Allow to cool completely before cutting along the scored marks into diamond shapes to serve.
Recipe Hints and Tips:
- If you do not have Orange Blossom it can be found at most cake shops or make 1 teaspoon orange essence to 1 tablespoon water.
- This recipe is not suitable for freezing.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
