Nut-honey baklava cake

It combines the honey-and-nut flavours of baklava with a cake-style bake. Unlike classic baklava, which is made from thin pastry sheets layered with nuts and syrup, recipes for the cake may use cake batter, filo or both.

Keep the unused sheets covered with a clean, barely damp tea towel while you work, and brush each sheet lightly with melted butter or oil. Filo dries and cracks quickly when left exposed.

For a crisp, syrup-soaked finish, pour cooled syrup over the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven. Let it stand for several hours before cutting so the syrup can soak in and the slices hold together.

Once completely cool, keep it covered in an airtight container in a cool, dry place; refrigeration can make filo layers lose their crispness. If the recipe includes a perishable filling such as cream cheese, refrigerate it instead.

Yes. Freeze it in well-wrapped portions, ideally before adding syrup, for a crisper result after thawing. Defrost it at room temperature, then warm it briefly in a low oven if you want to refresh the pastry.

Serve small slices with strong coffee or unsweetened tea to balance the honeyed sweetness. Plain yoghurt or lightly whipped cream also works, while extra honey or syrup is usually unnecessary.

Pistachios, walnuts and almonds are common choices, and you can use another finely chopped nut in their place. For a nut-free version, try toasted seeds, but the flavour and texture will differ.

Baklava is built from layers of filo pastry, chopped nuts and syrup; a baklava cake is a cake-style interpretation of those flavours. Some versions use filo as well, but a tender cake crumb is not part of traditional baklava.