I’ve heard you, so here we are with another flour- and egg-free bake, this time using filo as the saviour. Layers of crispy, buttery pastry filled with chocolatey, nutty, fruity goodness all drowning in a rich, sweet honey and zesty orange syrup, this recipe is a great one to raid your cupboards over and shove anything you have spare into it. I opted for dates and apricots, which I am pretty sure I have had since the beginning of time, but you can go for any additions that tickle your pickle. It looks fancier and trickier than it actually is and without doubt is a minimum-effort, max-gains sort of bake. This one is hard to gobble in one go, so it should keep you and your sweet tooth happy for a fair few days until I come at you with the next recipe…

Ingredients

300ml water
125g honey/agave syrup
150g caster sugar
1 large orange (the zest)
2 cloves
125g butter
175g mixed nuts (pistachios, cashews, walnuts, macadamias… whatever you have got)
75g apricot
75g dates
75g dark chocolate
9 filo sheets

Method

1. 1

   First things first, let’s get the syrup made, which will drench the filo. Into a medium saucepan, add in the caster sugar, honey/agave, water, orange zest and cloves and place over a medium heat. Bring to a slow boil, before reducing the heat and allowing to simmer for approximately 15 minutes until the liquid has thickened and reduced down to a syrupy consistency. Leave to one side and allow to completely cool – sounds a drag but soggy pastry is not the one, trust me.

2. 2

   Pop your oven on to 180C/160C fan/350F and place a baking sheet onto the middle shelf. Get a large, deep rectangular baking tray ready.

3. 3

   Into a small saucepan, add in the butter and gently heat until melted. Leave to one side.

4. 4

   Blitz the mixed nuts, dried fruits and dark chocolate until coarse. We don’t want a fine crumb, we are after the filling to still have texture.

5. 5

   Use a pastry brush to liberally grease the base of your baking tray with the melted butter. Layer three sheets of filo on top, slathering on a good layer of melted butter between each. On top of the third sheet, scatter half of the filling mixture evenly all over.

6. 6

   Repeat the filo layering again with another three sheets and remaining filling mixture. Top with the remaining three sheets and ensure your top layer uses up any remaining butter. Use a sharp knife to cut into diamonds, making sure the knife goes through every layer. We want every layer of filo to cook and crisp up.

7. 7

   Pop the tray on top of the baking sheet into the oven for 30 minutes, until the filo is a lovely deep golden colour.

8. 8

   Remove from the oven and pour over half of the cooled syrup mixture. Leave to sit for a few minutes before drowning the filo once again with the remaining syrup. Try to let the baklava cool before getting your paws involved.