Two flavours and shapes of baklava for your delectation. Make one for an after dinner treat or both for a feast.
Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3 and grease two large baking trays.
For the rose, cardamom and pistachio baklava, make a syrup. Put the sugar, honey, lemon juice and 150ml/5½fl oz water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer for about five minutes, or until the sugar is dissolved and a syrup has formed. Stir in the rose essence and leave to cool.
To make the filling, put 100g/3½oz of the pistachios in a food processor and pulse until broken up into small pieces. Add the icing sugar and cardamom and pulse to combine.
To assemble the baklava, brush the sheets of filo with melted butter (if you are short of space you can assemble the baklava one sheet at a time).
Spread the pistachio filling along one long edge of each sheet of filo. Sprinkle over the remaining whole pistachios.
Carefully roll up the filo, starting at the long edges covered in filling, to create long sausage shapes. Lift the rolls onto one of the prepared baking trays (it’s fine for them to be very close together).
Brush with a little melted butter and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden-brown and crisp.
Once baked, cut each roll into 5cm/2in lengths while still in the tray. Cover the hot baklava with the cooled syrup and set aside to cool completely, or overnight if possible.
For the orange and cinnamon baklava rolls, make a syrup. Put the sugar, honey, lemon juice and 150ml/5½fl oz water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer for about five minutes, or until the sugar is dissolved and a syrup has formed. Stir in the orange essence and leave to cool.
To make the filling, add the almonds and walnuts to a pan and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes, or until golden-brown.
Put the toasted walnuts and almonds in a food processor and pulse until broken into small pieces. Add the icing sugar, cinnamon and orange zest and pulse to combine.
To assemble the baklava, cut the sheets of filo in half to make 12 pieces.
Brush one piece of filo with melted butter, sprinkle over the walnut and almond filling and some finely chopped crystalised ginger along a long side of the rectangle.
Roll up the filo using a long dowel or skewer to help you (if you don’t have a suitable dowel, roll up the filo freehand as before). Scrunch up the roll of filo and place it widthways on a greased baking tray. Repeat with the remaining sheets of filo until the baking tray is covered.
Brush with a little melted butter and bake at 160C/325F/Gas 3 for 25-30 minutes, or until golden-brown and crisp.
When cooked, drizzle the syrup over the hot baklava rolls. Set aside to cool completely, or overnight if possible.
Baklava is best made the day before you want to eat them.
