RECIPE | Pistachio, walnut & chocolate baklava

Just when we thought baklava couldn't get any better, we discovered how it tastes when you add a touch of dark chocolate to the mix. 

PISTACHIO, WALNUT & CHOCOLATE BAKLAVA

Preparation and cooking time: 1 hour and 10 minutes (plus standing time)

Serves: 8-10

Cook's notes:

Baklava is probably the most recognisable of all sweet Greek pastries, with its origins going all the way back to the Ottoman Empire. We've added dark chocolate to our version of baklava to up the decadent level of this sweet treat.

Ingredients:

12 sheets phyllo pastry

120g unsalted butter, melted

2 tbsp finely chopped pistachios

For the pistachio & walnut filling:

1 ½ cups (210g) pistachios

2 cups (200g) walnuts

200g dark chocolate, chopped coarsely

⅓ cup (75g) caster sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1½ tbsp finely grated orange rind

For the honey syrup:

1 medium orange (240g)

1½ cups (330g) caster sugar

½ cup (125ml) water

½ cup (175g) honey

⅓ cup (80ml) orange juice

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 190°C/170°C. Grease a 22cm x 40cm x 2.5cm oven tray; line with baking paper.

2. Make the pistachio and walnut filling (see below).

3. Layer three phyllo pastry sheets, brushing each with a little of the butter. Keep remaining sheets covered with baking paper and topped with a clean, damp tea towel to prevent drying out. Spread a quarter of the filling over pastry, leaving a 3cm border along both long sides. Starting at one long side, roll up pastry to form a log. Place log on oven tray, brush with butter. Repeat with remaining pastry, butter and filling.

4. Bake baklava for 20 minutes or until golden.

5. Meanwhile, make honey syrup (see below).

6. Stand baklava on tray for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Using a small, sharp knife, cut each log, on the diagonal, into nine 2cm wide pieces in the tray. Pour hot syrup over baklava; stand for 3 hours or until syrup is absorbed. Serve topped with chopped pistachios.

To make the pistachio & walnut filling:

Spread pistachios and walnuts on an oven tray and roast in a 180°C/160°C fan oven for 5 minutes or until nuts are golden brown (stir nuts once during roasting for even cooking). Cool completely. Process nuts with remaining ingredients until finely chopped.

To make the honey syrup:

Remove rind from orange with a zester to form long thin strips of rind. Stir rind, sugar, water and honey in a small saucepan, over medium heat, without boiling, until sugar dissolves. Bring to a simmer; cook for 10 minutes or until thickened slightly. Stir in juice.