Baklava

Total Time: 1 hr 45 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• 9 phyllo pastry sheets (from a 1-pound package look in the frozen section at the local grocery)
• 1 cup walnuts (finely chopped the finer the better)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (melted)
• 1 cup honey syrup (see below)
• 2 2/3 cups sugar
• 2 cups water
• rind of one lemon
• 3 cloves
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 1 lb honey (of the darkest honey you can find)
• 5 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 1/2 tablespoons brandy

Recipe

• 1 place an 8" round cake pan on a stack of sheets, and use as a template to make phyllo circles. you can get one entire circle, and one half-circle, from each stack of sheets. use as much phyllo as possible.
• 2 butter cake pan, preheat oven to 350.
• 3 create six layers of phyllo, and brush each layer with butter.
• 4 create fifteen layers of phyllo-butter-1 tbsp walnuts on top of the above.
• 5 create six more layers of phyllo brushed with butter on top of the above.
• 6 score top approximately 1/2" deep, to form 16 triangles.
• 7 bake for 45 minutes, until it reaches a golden brown.
• 8 pour honey syrup on top of pastry, slice through the remaining layers of phyllo, and allow to cool several hours before serving.
• 9 honey syrup:this is the honey syrup for the baklava. you can store the extra syrup in the refridgerator until needed.
• 10 combine first five ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until it thickens slightly (approximately 10-15 minutes).
• 11 strain out rind and spices. stir in honey, lemon juice, and brandy. cool.
• 12 use for pastries.