Macadamia and wattleseed Baklava

Is there anything better than a dark Turkish/Bosnian coffee with a sickly-syrupy-sweet slice of Baklava and a mid-afternoon chat with a good friend?! Growing up I watched my mum prepare Baklava many times, and as soon as my brother and I were old enough, we would sit down as a family for a Bosnian coffee with baklava, and sometimes Turkish delight and tahini Halva. What wonderful memories! She used the more traditional walnut in her Baklava, and though it didn't require any changes, my love for experimentation has resulted in this Aussie version! Wattleseed, for those of you who may not have heard of it, is the seed of an Australian Acacia plant. It has a subtle flavour and aroma reminiscent of ground coffee and cocoa - a perfect addition to this dessert!

Makes 750g Baklava

200g ground macadamias
1 tsp ground and roasted wattleseed
3 Tbsp rapadura sugar
100g butter, melted until liquid
200g filo pastry

Syrup
150g rapadura sugar
150mL water
2 tsp lemon juice
2 cardamom pods
1 Tbsp rose water
1/4 tsp orange flower water

Method

Preheat oven to 180C. In a bowl combine the ground macadamias, wattleseed, and 3 Tbsp of sugar. Grease a small baking dish (mine is 25cm by 17cm). Place a couple of sheets of filo pastry in the baking dish, folding the edges in so it is the right size. Top with a little bit of butter and sprinkle with some macadamia mixture. Cover with another 2 sheets of filo pastry and press down gently. Repeat until all of the macadamia mixture is used up. Finish with 2 sheets of filo pastry. Press down firmly. With a sharp knife cut the baklava into pieces - vertical lines in one direction and 45 degree diagonal lines in the other. Bake for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare the syrup. Place the sugar, water, lemon juice, cardamom pods and orange flower water in a saucepan and heat gently while stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Then increase the temperature and simmer for 10 minutes without stirring. Stir in the rose water and remove the cardamom pods. Keep syrup warm while waiting for baklava to finish baking. Once out of the oven, pour syrup evenly over the top of the baklava. Allow to cool before serving.