Ingredients
Sugar syrup
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup water
Tart base
16 sheets Antoniou Fillo Pastry
250g hazelnuts, chopped finely
150g unsalted butter, melted
Tart filling
2 tablespoons cornflour
2 cups thickened cream
1 cup Nutella
200g whole hazelnuts
Method
Before you begin this Filo Pastry recipe, take your Fillo Pastry out of the fridge to bring it up to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
For the sugar syrup
Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Allow to simmer gently for 5 minutes. Take off the heat and allow to cool.
For the tart base
Grease a 24cm round quiche dish, tart dish or cake tin with butter (ensuring the dish has a minimum 4cm height). Drape one sheet of Filo Pastry in the base of the tray, allowing the excess Fillo to hang over the sides. Brush the Fillo with butter. Continue this process, using 8 sheets of Filo Pastry until the base is all covered (ensuring you butter between each layer). As you layer each sheet of Fillo, rotate them slightly so that the base covers evenly.
Spread half of the finely chopped hazelnuts evenly over the Fillo Pastry. Using your hands, sprinkle the top of the nuts with water – this helps the nuts stick together when cutting the cake once cooked.
Lay four more sheets of Fillo Pastry over the nuts, buttering between each layer and rotating them once again to ensure the excess Fillo overhangs evenly over the edges of the tray. Spread the remaining half of the chopped hazelnuts over the Fillo Pastry and again, using your hands, sprinkle the top of the nuts with water. Lay four more sheets of Fillo Pastry over the nuts, buttering between each layer. Take the overhanging Fillo and roll it into the outer edge of the baklava, to create a short tart side (for the filling to be poured into). Brush with butter.
Using a sharp skewer, poke lots of holes all over the base and inner rolled sides of the tart. This will ensure the syrup soaks into the baklava nicely.
Bake in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 25 minutes, until the Fillo Pastry begins to puff up and brown. Reduce the heat to 160 degrees Celsius and bake for a further 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and gently spoon the cold syrup over the hot baklava immediately, one spoonful at a time, ensuring it is evenly distributed. Allow to cool for at least 2 hours.
Transfer the baklava to a serving plate. The centre of the baklava will have risen during the baking process; use the back of a spoon to press down and flatten.
For the tart filling
Place the cornflour and ½ a cup of cream in a saucepan and whisk until the lumps of cornflour have disappeared (off the heat). Add the Nutella and the remaining cream to the saucepan, place over medium heat and bring to the boil, while mixing occasionally to combine all the ingredients. Once the mixture is boiling, whisk for 3 minutes until it thickens. Remove from the heat, whisk for a further 30 seconds and gently pour the mixture into the baklava shell. If the filling doesn’t all fit, fill the tart with as much filling as it can hold.
Place the whole hazelnuts gently over the tart filling and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours, uncovered (or overnight).
Recipe, styling and photography by Sydney Food Sisters.
Learn how to make a Choc Hazelnut Baklava Tart