Baklava with Walnuts and Honey Syrup

Preparation

1. Get out a baking dish of about 23 x 33 cm. Cut the filo to the size of the dish and keep it covered with a damp tea towel the whole time so it does not dry out. Preheat the oven to 160 °C.
2. Chop the walnuts with the cinnamon in a food processor, coarsely to finely; they should stay as crumbs and not turn to powder.
3. Brush the bottom of the dish with butter, lay a sheet of filo on it and brush that with butter too. Layer 10 sheets this way, brushing each one separately with butter. Scatter a fifth of the nuts over the top.
4. Lay 5 buttered sheets on top, scatter another fifth of the nuts and repeat three more times until the nuts are used up. Finally put 10 buttered sheets on top as a lid, brushing the top sheet with butter as well.
5. Cut the baklava into four long strips and then diagonally into diamonds. Bake in the oven for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes until golden brown.
6. Meanwhile, bring the sugar, honey, water and lemon juice to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves, and simmer for another 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool completely.
7. Take the hot baklava out of the oven and immediately pour the cold syrup over it; it will hiss audibly. Sprinkle with the pistachios.
8. Leave uncovered at room temperature for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight, to soak. Before serving, check that all the pieces are cut right through.

Drink with it

• Sweet wine · excellent match

  Tokaji Aszú or Muscat of Samos, well chilled

  Honey and apricot notes find an echo in the wine, and its acidity cuts through the buttery pastry and keeps the syrup from feeling sticky.

  Which wine goes with dessert? Comparing sweetness deliberately ↗

• Fortified wine · excellent match

  Madeira Malmsey or sweet Oloroso

  Nutty, oxidative notes meet walnut and browned butter, and the Madeira's acidity checks the sweetness.

  Port wine: understanding Ruby, Tawny, and Vintage ↗

• Sherry-cask whisky · good match

  Sherry-cask whisky, neat or with a drop of water

  Nut and raisin from the cask suit walnut and pistachio, and the dry finish offers relief from the syrup.

  What Does the Cask Do to Whisky? ↗

• Cognac and brandy · good match

  Cognac VSOP, neat

  Vanilla and dried fruit mirror honey and nut, and the dry warmth holds up against the sweetness.

  Cognac and Armagnac: Two Origins for Brandy ↗