If you love baklava, you’re in for a treat ;). This version features hazelnuts, dark chocolate and cinnamon, all soaked in a fragrant honey syrup. It’s sticky, rich and completely addictive. Layer upon layer of crisp filo pastry filled with toasted nuts and high-quality chocolate, drenched in syrup until it practically drips… An exceptional and slightly indulgent autumn dessert that will satisfy even the most refined – and sweet – tastes :).
Makes 24 portions.
Ingredients for honey syrup:
- 2 cups water
- 1½ cups honey
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 cinnamon sticks
Place all ingredients in a saucepan, stir and bring to the boil until the sugar and honey dissolve. Simmer gently for about 15 minutes until slightly thickened (you should get about 2½ cups of syrup). Leave to cool.
Ingredients for baklava:
- approx. 500 g filo pastry (about 24 sheets)*
- 450 g hazelnuts
- 320 g dark chocolate (70%), roughly chopped
- 1½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 300 g clarified butter, melted
Toast the hazelnuts in a dry pan or in the oven at 180°C, stirring occasionally. Rub off the skins (they come off easily if wrapped in a paper towel and rubbed). Chop or pulse into small pieces (not too fine). Chop the chocolate into similar-sized pieces. Combine with the hazelnuts and cinnamon.
Grease a 23 × 33 cm baking tin.
Working with one sheet of filo at a time (keeping the rest covered so it doesn’t dry out), place a sheet in the tin and brush with melted butter. Repeat until you have 8 layers. Spread half of the nut and chocolate mixture evenly over the pastry. Add 4 more sheets of filo, brushing each with butter. Spread the remaining filling. Top with 12 more sheets of filo, brushing each layer with butter, including the top layer. Using a sharp knife, cut into squares or triangles, slicing almost all the way through.
Bake at 170°C for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 140°C and bake for a further 40–45 minutes, until golden. Remove from the oven and immediately pour the cooled syrup evenly over the hot baklava (about 2 cups). Leave to cool for several hours. Baklava tastes best on the second or third day.
Store at room temperature.
* If your filo sheets are larger, trim them to fit the tin.
Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Soframiz by Ana Sortun and Maura Kilpatrick.
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