Almond and coconut baklava with orange syrup

Tam West

This recipe from Auckland's Turkish Lokanta restaurant gives baklava a modern twist, with coconut and nuts, served with fresh oranges and crystallised orange peel. In the restaurant it is presented like a diagonally cut sushi roll. However, in the recipe below, the baklava is cut in the traditional way, into squares or diamonds. Ray McVinnie meets the hospitality veterans behind the restaurant here.

Ingredients

2 cups	Hot water
1 ½ cups	White sugar
2 Tbsp	Honey
2	Oranges, zested and juiced
1 ½ cups	Almonds, processed or chopped
1 cup	Coconut threads, long
300 g	Butter, melted
14 sheets	Filo pastry (Main)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 180C.
2. In a saucepan mix sugar, honey and orange zest and juice with 2 cups hot water to dissolve sugar and honey. Cook on a rolling boil until syrupy.
3. Mix almonds and coconut together and set aside.
4. Brush a tray or ovenproof dish (approx 21 x 29cm) with the butter, then using 7 of the filo sheets, start layering up, brushing butter between every layer, folding back over itself to fit the tray.
5. Spread the chopped nuts and coconut evenly over the pastry, then layer up remaining sheets as before. Butter the top liberally, then refrigerate until set.
6. Cut baklava into squares or diamonds, right through to the bottom of the tray. (It is made into a sushi roll shape in the restaurant, as photographed above.)
7. Bake for approx 40 minutes until dark golden and crisp.
8. As soon as it comes out of the oven, pour all the syrup over evenly — it will bubble and spit initially and then soak in.
9. Allow to cool, then re-cut over same lines to divide into portions. Serve with sliced fresh oranges and whipped cream.

More Turkish recipes from Lokanta restaurant

• Fish pilaki
• Minotaur beef
• Tava mussels with skordalia (greek almond and garlic dipping sauce)