Baklava is traditionally full of a range of different nuts. However, not being much of a nut fan and working in schools which are majority nut free, I’ve traded the nuts in for coconut. Feel free to switch it up.. just make sure the weight remains the same and the nuts are finely chopped. The coconut will brown quickly so just keep an eye on it. This recipe was a massive hit in my Greek Meze workshop!
Ingredients
Filling
- 150g Desiccated Coconut
- 200g caster sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 170g unsalted butter, melted, or more as needed
Syrup
- 475ml water
- 400g caster sugar
- 4 whole cloves
- 1/2 cinnamon stick
- 1 lemon, juiced, divided
- 12 sheets filo pastry
Directions
- For the filling: Melt the butter and set aside. Combine the desiccated coconut, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest and 6tbsp of melted butter.
- Heat the oven to 160ᵒC. Generously brush a 30x25cm tin/casserole with melted butter. Lay the filo pastry out on a clear work surface near the tin, with the melted butter and filling within easy reach. Line the tin with one sheet of filo and brush with melted butter. Repeat with three more sheets of filo.
- Lightly spread the filling over the pastry. Top four more sheets of filo, again brushing each sheet with butter before adding the next, adding the filling to the top and then repeating with the remaining four sheets. You can be particularly generous with the butter on the last layer.
- Use a sharp knife to cut through the layers in parallel lines to make square or diamond shapes. Bake for 45 minutes until golden and crisp.
- To make the syrup: Put the sugar, cloves, cinnamon stick and lemon juice into a saucepan with the water. Bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then simmer for about 10 minutes, until syrupy. Take off the heat and allow to cool slightly.
- When the baklava is golden, remove from the oven and turn up the heat to 180ᵒC. Pour the syrup over the top of the baklava, especially along the lines, and put back in the oven for five minutes. Remove and leave to cool completely. Run a knife along the lines to loosen them before attempting to lift the pieces out of the tin.
