Chop up the nuts or use a pestle and mortar or food processor to get the size you want. Add the cinnamon and stir to combine.
Add the butter to a microwave and heat until melted. This will be used to brush over each piece of filo/phyllo pastry.
230 g butter
Using a baking tray 9 by 13 inches place on a flat surface and butter the base and sides well to prevent sticking.
Open the filo dough and cut into half. Place under a damp kitchen towel to prevent them drying out.
450 g filo pastry
Place 2 pieces at a time into the base of the baking tray buttering as you go. Repeat until you have 8 layers of buttered filo pastry.
Generously add the nut and cinnamon mixture over the Philo pastry topping it off with another 2 layers of buttered filo. Then repeat adding the filo, buttering as your go until you have a further 8 layers of pastry.
450 g walnuts, 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
It is at this stage the I recommend you cut the pastry as it makes it so much easy to remove after cooking.
Pop in the preheated oven for about 50 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and golden brown.
Once the baklava is in the oven, add the water and sugar to a small pan over a medium high heat and bring to a boil until the sugar has melted. Stir throughout but don’t splash yourself.
235 ml water, 200 g granulated sugar
Once boiling, add the honey and vanilla extract and reduce the temperature until it is simmering. Simmer for 15 – 20 minutes stirring occasionally.
168 g honey, 1 tsp vanilla extract
Once the baklava is golden brown and crispy, remove from the oven and pour the sauce over straight away so it gets absorbed all the way through.
Leave to cool and then remove from the tray and tuck in.