Transfer the chopped nuts into a mixing bowl. Add the sugar and ground cardamom and mix everything together until the spice is evenly distributed through the nut mixture. Set aside while you prepare everything else.

Now make the syrup. In a saucepan, combine the water and sugar over medium heat. Stir gently until the sugar has fully dissolved, don't walk away at this point as it can catch on the bottom if left unattended.

Once the sugar has dissolved, bring the mixture to a gentle boil. Add the lemon juice, then reduce the heat slightly and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the syrup has thickened slightly. It should coat the back of a spoon but still be pourable.

Remove the syrup from the heat and set it aside to cool completely. This is important. The syrup must be cold when it hits the hot baklava to keep that crispiness. Don't rush this step.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter and ghee together over low heat. Once melted, skim off and discard the white foam that rises to the surface. This clarifies the butter mixture and gives your baklava a cleaner, richer flavour.

Preheat your oven to 170°C (top and bottom heat). Grease your baking tray lightly with some of the butter-ghee mixture. Carefully unroll the phyllo dough and lay the sheets flat. Cover them immediately with a damp kitchen towel. Phyllo dries out in minutes and becomes brittle and impossible to work with if left uncovered.

Take one sheet of phyllo dough and lay it flat on a clean work surface. Using your pastry brush, lightly but evenly coat the entire surface with the butter-ghee mixture. Don't be too heavy-handed, you just want a thin, even layer.

Sprinkle a thin, even layer of the nut filling across the buttered phyllo sheet. Try to keep it even all the way to the edges so every bite has filling in it.

Place a thin rolling stick or wooden skewer along one edge of the sheet. Carefully roll the pastry tightly around the stick, keeping it as even and snug as possible as you go.

Once fully rolled, hold the roll steady with both hands. Gently push the pastry inward from both ends simultaneously, compressing it along the stick to create those beautiful, traditional wrinkled folds that baklava is known for. Carefully slide the stick out from the centre of the roll.

Place the finished roll onto the greased baking tray. Repeat this process with each remaining phyllo sheet and the rest of the nut filling, placing each roll neatly alongside the last until the tray is full.

Once all the rolls are arranged in the tray, use a sharp knife to cut them into equal-sized pieces. Cut all the way through at this stage, before baking, cutting after baking will shatter the crispy pastry.

Brush the tops of all the rolls generously with the remaining butter-ghee mixture, making sure the cut edges get coated too.

Bake at 170°C for 35-45 minutes, until the baklava is deeply golden and properly crispy all over. Keep an eye on it from the 35-minute mark, every oven runs slightly differently.

The moment the baklava comes out of the oven, slowly and evenly pour the cold syrup over the hot pastry. Pour it gradually, letting each pour absorb before adding more, rather than dumping it all on at once. You should hear a satisfying sizzle as the cold syrup hits the hot pastry. That sound means you've done it right.

Leave the baklava to soak and absorb the syrup for several hours, or ideally overnight. The longer it sits, the better the flavour and texture gets. Garnish with crushed pistachios or extra chopped nuts before serving. Bon Apetite!