This rich pastry is a famous dessert in Greece, Turkey and most Middle Eastern countries. Whatever its origin, the basic technique remains the same.

Some cooks replace the sugar with honey (reduce the quantity by half). You can use walnuts, almonds or a mixture of both - or even add some pistachios. Add a touch of orange flower water or rose water to flavor the syrup, if desired.

With these three variables, you can adapt the baklava recipe to suit your taste, making it in a rectangular dish or as individual pastries.

1. Combine the nuts, bread crumbs, spices and sugar;
2. brush each sheet of phyllo pastry with melted butter;
3. line a rectangular baking dish with 6 layered sheets of phyllo;
4. spread a layer of the nut mixture over top;
5. cover with 2 sheets of phyllo; repeat until the filling is used up;
6. top with 6 sheets of phyllo (each one brushed with butter and layered);
7. make some slashes on the top of the pastry with a sharp knife;
8. bake in a 180° C (350° F) oven for about 20 minutes until the top is nicely browned; let cool;
9. prepare the syrup: boil the sugar, water and lemon juice together in a saucepan for about 10 minutes;
10. pour the hot syrup over the cooled baklava;
11. let rest several hours before serving;
12. cut into squares.