Baklava

Make the honey syrup

Meanwhile, combine the honey, water, sugar and orange juice in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat until the mixture nearly reaches a simmer, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium and continue simmering for 5 minutes. Transfer the syrup to a heat-safe bowl, stir in the orange blossom water (if using), and refrigerate the syrup until ready to use.

Finely chop the nuts.

Pulse the nuts in a food processor until they are finely-chopped. (Alternately, you can chop them by hand with a chef’s knife, or place them in a ziplock and pound them with a mallet.) Pulse or stir the nuts together with the cinnamon until combined. Set aside a few tablespoons of nuts to use later as a topping, then divide the remaining nuts into 5 equal portions (roughly 3/4 cup per portion) and set aside.

Trim the phyllo dough

Unwrap and transfer the thawed phyllo sheets to a cutting board and use a chef’s knife to slice them into a 9 x 13-inch rectangle (to fit the baking dish). Discard the scraps, then lightly cover the stack of phyllo sheets with a damp towel so that they do not dry out.

Arrange your assembly line.

Heat oven to 325°F (162°C). Place a 9 x 13-inch baking dish on your work station, followed by the bowl of melted butter, followed by the phyllo sheets, followed by the chopped nuts. Time to begin!

Butter the baking dish.

Use a soft pastry brush to lightly brush the inside of the baking dish with butter.

1st layer

Carefully lay 1 phyllo sheet in the baking dish and brush it lightly with butter. (No need for it to be perfectly brushed!) Repeat with 9 more sheets, brushing each with butter, until there are 10 sheets total. Sprinkle approximately 1/5 of the nut mixture evenly over the top layer of phyllo.

2nd layer

Repeat with 5 more phyllo sheets, each lightly brushed with butter, followed by another 1/5 of the nut mixture.

3rd layer

Repeat with 5 more phyllo sheets, each lightly brushed with butter, followed by another 1/5 of the nut mixture.

4th layer

Repeat with 5 more phyllo sheets, each lightly brushed with butter, followed by another 1/5 of the nut mixture.

5th layer

Repeat with 5 more phyllo sheets, each lightly brushed with butter, followed by another 1/5 of the nut mixture.

6th layer

Finally, repeat with the remaining 10 phyllo sheets, each lightly brushed with butter. Brush any remaining butter on the top and final layer.

Cut the baklava.

Using a very sharp paring knife, slice the baklava all the way through into your desired shapes/sizes. (I sliced mine into diamonds.)

Bake.

Transfer the baking dish to the oven and bake for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the top layers of the baklava are golden brown and crispy.

Drizzle with syrup.

Transfer the baking dish to a wire cooling rack. Then immediately drizzle the cooled syrup evenly over the top of the hot baklava. (It will sizzle and crack, which is what we want!) Sprinkle a pinch of the reserved chopped nuts on top of each piece of baklava as a topping.

Cool to room temperature.

Let the baklava sit out uncovered for 3-4 hours until it has completely cooled to room temperature, then serve and enjoy! Storage instructions included below.