Ingredients

For the nut filling
6 oz shelled pistachios, chopped
6 oz walnuts, chopped
6 oz hazelnuts, chopped
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
generous pinch of ground cloves, to taste
16 oz package of phyllo dough, thawed
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted

For the honey syrup
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup cold water
1 cup honey
5 whole cloves
juice of 1 lemon

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Make the honey syrup: Combine sugar and water in a saucepan on medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves. Add the honey and whole cloves, and stir to mix. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and let simmer for about 25 minutes. Remove syrup from heat and let cool. Add lemon juice and remove the cloves.

Make the nut mixture: Chop pistachios, walnuts, and hazelnuts (with a knife or a food processor). Transfer to a large mixing bowl and add sugar, cinnamon, and ground cloves. Mix well to combine.

Prepare the phyllo pastry: Unroll the thawed phyllo dough and place the sheets between two clean dish towels. (This will prevent the phyllo from breaking while you work.)

Assemble the baklava: Prepare a 9 by 13″ baking pan by brushing the interior with melted butter. To assemble the baklava, take one sheet of phyllo and place it in the pan. Brush with melted butter. Repeat this process a few more times until you’ve used up about 1/3 of the pastry. (Each layer is brushed with melted butter before adding the next one.) Now distribute about 1/2 of the nut mixture evenly over the top layer of phyllo. Continue assembling the baklava, one sheet of phyllo pastry at a time, using another 1/3 of the phyllo. Again, brush each layer with a bit of melted butter as you go. Distribute the remaining 1/2 of the nut mixture evenly over the top layer of phyllo. Finish the remaining 1/3 of the phyllo pastry following the same process. Brush the very top sheet with melted butter to finish.

Cut the baklava into pieces: Using a sharp knife, cut the pastry into 24 diamond shaped pieces.

Bake: Place the baking dish on the middle rack of the preheated oven. Bake for about 40 minutes, until the top is golden and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Pour the syrup: As soon as you remove the baklava from the oven, pour the cooled syrup over the hot baklava. (A generous amount!)

Cool completely and enjoy: Allow baklava to sit for a few hours before serving. (Tastes great the next day! Also freezes well.)

(Note: I made half of this recipe, and used a loaf pan instead of a baking dish.)

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Recipe credit and video from The Mediterranean Dish website.