Maple Pecan Baklava Recipe

Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C in a fan oven) Gas mark 4.

Place the nuts in a blender and blitz until coarse. Transfer to a bowl with the 50g of softened butter, sugar, cinnamon and maple syrup. Stir well to combine.

Lay a sheet of filo pastry on a clean work surface and brush all over with melted butter. Fold in half, widthways and brush the surface with butter. Repeat with all 7 sheets of filo.

Have the folded edge of pastry in front of you, and spoon the nut mixture across the width of the pastry, 2cm up from the edge, approximately 1 ½ cm wide. There will be enough mixture to repeat this process with all 7 folded sheets.

Starting at the folded edge, roll up the pastry around the filling to the top, to create a long cigar shape. Brush the top with butter and cut in half. Repeat with the remaining sheets, until you have 14 baklava. Transfer to a baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the pastry is golden.

Meanwhile, put the sugar, water and cardamom in a small, heavy-based saucepan and cook over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has melted. Continue to heat for approximately 15 minutes, until the syrup has reduced by 1/3.

Allow the baklava to cool for 10-15 minutes before carefully transferring to a dish where they can sit closely together. Strain the syrup evenly over the baklava, discarding the cardamom pods.

Leave to cool completely before covering and transferring to the fridge for 2-3 hours or overnight.

To serve, sprinkle the baklava with the finely chopped pistachios.