Baklava is a very indulgent Greek and Middle-Eastern treat, which usually contains copious quantities of butter and honey, but I've found that it's simple to veganise without losing any flavour.
- 150g/6oz almonds
- 150g/6oz walnuts
- 150g/6oz hazelnuts or cashews
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 pack filo pastry
- 75g/3oz dairy-free spread/butter
For the syrup
- 2 cups Fairtrade golden caster sugar from Suma
- 4 tbsp agave, date or Fairtrade golden syrup from Suma
- juice of 1 lemon, plus a little lemon zest
- 1 large stick of cinnamon, broken in half
- 1½ cups boiled water
Roughly grind all of the nuts in a food processor and mix in the ground cinnamon.
Grease a baking tin with some of the melted butter.
Line the tin with a sheet of filo, letting it drape over the sides of the tin. Baste with more butter and repeat several times until you have used half of the pastry.
Tip in half of the nuts and spread out over the pastry.
Fold a couple more sheets of pastry and place them over the layer of nuts so they fit snugly in the tin. Baste with more butter.
Cover with the remaining half of the nuts.
Layer the remaining sheets of pastry over, basting with butter each time.
Finally fold the over-lapping sheets in to fully enclose the nuts.
Baste the top with the remaining butter.
Cut the 'pie' into small squares or diamonds, using a sharp knife, cutting through all of the layers carefully.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180C/170C Fan/350F/Gas 4 for approximately 45 mins, or until the surface is crisp and golden brown.
Meanwhile make the syrup.
Mix all the syrup ingredients together in a pan and allow the sugar to dissolve on a low heat, stirring occasionally.
Bring to a simmer and simmer for 5 minutes. Take off the heat and allow to cool.
When the baklava is cooked, remove from the oven and poor the cool syrup all over the hot baklava.
Allow to cool in the tin at room temperature. Leave to soak in the syrup for several hours, before serving.
Integrity Statement As a member of the Suma Blogger's Network, I will receive a selection of complimentary products from Suma every two months, to use in recipe development, and will blog an original recipe for the Network.
Grease a baking tin with some of the melted butter.
Line the tin with a sheet of filo, letting it drape over the sides of the tin. Baste with more butter and repeat several times until you have used half of the pastry.
Tip in half of the nuts and spread out over the pastry.
Fold a couple more sheets of pastry and place them over the layer of nuts so they fit snugly in the tin. Baste with more butter.
Cover with the remaining half of the nuts.
Layer the remaining sheets of pastry over, basting with butter each time.
Finally fold the over-lapping sheets in to fully enclose the nuts.
Baste the top with the remaining butter.
Cut the 'pie' into small squares or diamonds, using a sharp knife, cutting through all of the layers carefully.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180C/170C Fan/350F/Gas 4 for approximately 45 mins, or until the surface is crisp and golden brown.
Meanwhile make the syrup.
Mix all the syrup ingredients together in a pan and allow the sugar to dissolve on a low heat, stirring occasionally.
Bring to a simmer and simmer for 5 minutes. Take off the heat and allow to cool.When the baklava is cooked, remove from the oven and poor the cool syrup all over the hot baklava.
Allow to cool in the tin at room temperature. Leave to soak in the syrup for several hours, before serving.
Integrity Statement As a member of the Suma Blogger's Network, I will receive a selection of complimentary products from Suma every two months, to use in recipe development, and will blog an original recipe for the Network.
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