Cherry Blossom Baklava

I have at last  braved baklava. It is a rolled version featuring homemade filo pastry brushed with butter and filled with cinnamon and clove spiced walnuts and pecans. It is drenched in a syrup of orange juice, orange blossom water and orange blossom honey, and is sprinkled with chopped pecans.

The pastry is thin, light and crisp baked to golden brown. The nut filling is crunchy with a great mixture of chunky and finely chopped nuts. The flavours of them marry well. The addition of the dried cherries adds a great sweetness. The syrup has set to perfection giving it the characteristic stickiness but still with a crisp pastry. It is better than I ever imagined.