Fig and Hazelnut Baklava

Flakey, honey-soaked pastry filled with a heady mix of hazelnuts, fresh figs and cinnamon. There is nothing too technically challenging about making your own baklava, but it feels somehow so impressive.

Because of the fresh figs, this is softer on the base than baklava made with only nuts, but I love it, and it makes an especially good dessert with a dollop of ricotta whipped cream on the side. I love the combination of figs and hazelnuts but any nut will work- walnuts or pistachios would be especially good. You can use this same recipe to make a baklava without fruit- simply omit the figs and flour and add another cup of ground nuts. You can keep the cinnamon or remove it or use other aromatics such as rose petals or cardamom.