Honey baklava with apples

Ingredients:

Honey syrup

• 1 and 1/4 cups sugar
• 2/3 cup orange blossom honey
• 6 wide strips orange zest + 1/4 cup orange juice (from 1 orange)
• 1 and 1/4 cups of water
• 4 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Baklava

• 220 g unsalted butter
• 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons orange blossom honey
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1 cup walnut pieces
• 1 cup unsalted pistachios
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. breadcrumbs
• 24 sheets frozen filo pastry (450g), thawed

Preparation:

1. Honey syrup:
   
   Combine the sugar, honey, orange zest, orange juice, and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat and simmer until the syrup thickens and coats a spoon, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice. Let cool slightly. Remove the orange zest and set aside for the filling. Let the syrup cool for at least 1 hour.
2. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 190°C.
3. Baklava:
   
   In a large skillet over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add the apples and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the honey, cinnamon, salt, and cloves; cook until the pan is dry and the apples are sticky, 3 minutes. Set aside to cool.
4. Grind the nuts in a food processor until finely ground; transfer to a large bowl. Finely chop the orange zest and add to the nuts. Add the apples and 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs and mix.
5. In a saucepan over low heat, melt the remaining 190g butter. Grease the bottom and sides of a 22x32cm baking dish with a little melted butter. Unroll the phyllo dough on a flat surface and cover with a damp towel. Place 1 sheet of dough in the baking dish and lightly grease with a little butter. If there is excess dough, simply fold it over and lightly grease with more butter or trim it. Sprinkle with 2 tbsp breadcrumbs. Repeat layers 5 more times (phyllo, butter, breadcrumbs). Top with a quarter of the apple-nut mixture.
6. Top with 4 more sheets of phyllo, brushing each with butter; top with another quarter of the apple-nut mixture. Repeat the layers 2 more times (4 sheets of phyllo, brushed with butter, then a quarter of the apple-nut mixture). Top with the remaining 6 sheets of phyllo, lightly brushing each with butter.
7. Cut the baklava in half crosswise and lengthwise to create 4 quarters. Cut each quarter in half crosswise to create 8 rectangles. Cut each rectangle into 4 triangles. You'll end up with 32 pieces in total.
8. Bake the baklava until golden brown and crispy, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately drizzle with honey syrup. Let the syrup soak in while the baklava cools, at least 3 hours.