You'll Need:

for the baklava

# 2 lb. 4oz. (1 kilo) sheets of fillo pastry
# 2 lb. 4 oz. (1 kilo) crushed almonds
# 2 tbsps. ground cinnamon and clove
# 15 fl. oz. (400g) buttermilk

for the syrup

# 4 lbs. 4oz. (2 kilos) sugar
# 2 pints (40 fl. oz) water
# vanilla
# juice of one lemon

Procedure:

# Lightly brush a baking tin with buttermilk # In a bowl mix the crushed almonds with the cinnamon and cloves # Spread the sheets of fillo pastry and brush each sheet with a coating of buttermilk # Put a layer of 3 sheets of pastry on to the baking tin and sprinkle the top with the crushed almond mixture # Continue laying alternate layers of pastry and almonds in the tin leaving 4 sheets of pastry without any cinnamon mixture for the topping # Brush the top with buttermilk and, using a sharp knife, mark the baklava into serving pieces # Bake in a pre-heated oven 350F, Gas Mark 4, 180C for 60-70 minutes # In a large saucepan put the sugar, water, lemon juice and a little vanilla # Bring to the boil and simmer for about 10 minutes adding water if the syrup is too thick # Remove baklavas from the oven, cool a little, and pour syrup over it # When sufficiently cool, cut out the pieces that were marked before baking

Category: Greek