To prepare this delicious chocolate baklava start by preparing the filling. Blitz the nuts in a food processor until fine. Chop the dark chocolate into very small pieces by hand, and stir in the spices and a generous pinch of salt. Set aside.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan set over a medium heat, melt the butter.
Brush a 20cm square (8×8 inch) baking dish with butter. Gradually layer 1/3 of the filo sheets in the bottom of the dish, generously sprinkling melted butter between each layer.
Spread 1/2 of the baklava mixture across the pastry, then continue layering another 1/3 of the filo sheets sprinkled with butter. Repeat until you have used all the filling and the filo, brushing the top layer with the remaining butter so it turns crisp and golden in the oven.
Using a very sharp knife, cut the chocolate baklava into 4 equal, parallel pieces. Then, cut a bisecting line from the top corner of the pan to the opposite corner at the bottom. Using this line as a guide, cut more parallel, diagonal lines from the top of the cuts in the original dividing lines down to their opposite number at the bottom. You should be left with an elongated diamond pattern.
Pre-heat the oven to 150C (300F). Bake the baklava for 1 1/2 hours until the pastry is crisp and golden.
Meanwhile, to make the syrup, combine the sugar, water, orange zest and the cinnamon stick and bring to the boil over a high heat, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat to cool and for the cinnamon stick to infuse; once it has reached room temperature, stir in the lemon juice, honey and hazelnut liquor, if using.
Gradually pour the cold syrup over the hot baklava, making sure to pay attention to the cuts and to allow it to properly soak in. Don’t worry if things look a little flooded, everything will come right as the dish cools to room temperature, when it will be ready to serve.
Let the chocolate baklava cool down completely and serve after the syrup has soaked through. Enjoy!
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