Step 1

Put date syrup, water and lemon juice (if using) into a small pot and gently bring to the boil.

Step 2

Simmer on a very low heat until you get a thin syrup that coats the back of a spoon.

Step 3

Set aside to cool down completely.

Step 4

Soak your pitted dates in boiling water for about 20 minutes.

Step 5

Place the soaked dates (discard soaking water), nuts, orange zest, cinnamon and salt in a food processor.

Step 6

Process until you get a mixture of uniform texture that sticks together, but isn't overly wet (as this will make your baklava soggy). I added a few tablespoons (about 6 tbsp / 90 ml) of water to mine to make it a touch less dry, but it very much depends on how sticky your dates are so please proceed with caution.

Step 7

Remove the filo pastry from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes - this makes it easier to handle.

Step 8

Prepare a baking tin by brushing it with a small amount of oil. Wet two clean kitchen towels and wring them both out really well.

Step 9

Pre-heat the oven to 180º C / 355º F.

Step 10

Trim your filo pastry to the size of your baking dish and use larger trimmings as interior layers - the more layers the better. Remove the first sheet of pastry from the packaging (cover the rest with a damp kitchen towel to prevent them drying out) and trim it to size of your dish - this should be your template moving forward.

Step 11

Place the first sheet at the bottom of the greased baking dish and brush it with a small amount of oil - don't load your brush with lots of oil as you don't want a greasy end result, a few gentle brush strokes will do.

Step 12

Follow up with 3 more sheets, brushing each one with a little oil as you go.

Step 13

Now, sprinkle half of your filling mixture on top evenly.

Step 14

Follow up with another 3 more sheets - construct extra layers from some of your larger offcuts. I only had 7 sheets in my filo packet, but thanks to generous offcuts I created an extra 3 layers to go in the middle. Again, make sure to brush each layer with a little oil as you go along.

Step 15

Sprinkle the remainder of the filling and cover with another 3-4 layers of lightly greased filo. Like I said earlier, the more layers the better.

Step 16

Finally, lightly oil the top sheet and cut into small pieces with a sharp knife. You can go for squares, rectangles or diamonds, like I did.

Step 17

Bake in a pre-heated oven for about 45 minutes, until the top is nicely browned.

Step 18

As soon as the baklava is ready, brush it while still piping hot with the cold (that's important as otherwise it'll end up soggy) syrup. Sprinkle with finely chopped pistachios. If you made more than you are able to eat, just freeze the remainder.