Pistachio baklava recipe

Pulse the pistachios (150 g) and natural nut mix (150 g) in a food processer or blender, until finely chopped, being careful not to blitz into a paste.

Add the chopped chocolate (75 g) to the nuts and mix in the honey (3 tbsp).

Melt the butter (250 g) in a small pan on a low heat without mixing until the milky solids have settled at the bottom of the pan. Gently pour the butter into a bowl, discarding the cloudy milk solids. You should now have 200g of clarified butter.

Brush a deep 21cm x 21cm tin with a little of the clarified butter. Open the pack of filo (2 packs) and cut the sheets in half so they fit the tray. Add 1 layer of pastry to the base of the tin and evenly brush with more butter. Repeat this until you have used one pack of pastry. Scatter over the honeyed nut mixture, pressing it down in an even layer. Repeat the process of layering sheets of pastry with clarified butter until you have used the other pack of pastry.

Bake the baklava for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 150°C/130°C fan/gas mark 2 and bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown.

Meanwhile, make the syrup. Add the golden caster sugar (250 g), 150ml of water, honey (50 g), the orange zest (1) and the cardamom pods (4) to a large saucepan over a low heat. Mix until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil and keep boiling until it reaches 107°C using a sugar thermometer. Remove the spices with a slotted spoon, add in a squeeze of the orange juice and leave to sit.

Pour the warm syrup over the baklava and allow to cool completely before serving. To garnish, sprinkle over the dried rose petals (1 tsp).