Baklava and pistachio ice-cream sandwich

During our five-day stay in Istanbul, we made the journey to Karakoy Gulluoglu, a baklava parlour. As we navigated our way there, we resisted the urge to pull up a chair at any one of the countless baklava shops in the same area for the promise of the best baklava with kaymak (rich Turkish buffalo clotted cream) in town.

Looking around, we realised that here baklava wasn't a pastry to have to go. It was to be devoured with friends over warm, golden-hued tea and conservation that lasted for hours. So we decided to order one of each type. As I sat on the high stool with my plate filled with walnut, almond, orange, chocolate and pistachio varieties, and rich clotted cream, I remembered our hotel owner's words of wisdom before we set out for the day: dollop some cream into your spoon, prick into the centre of the baklava and then spoon it all into your mouth.

The buttery, silky cream melts away, cutting the richness of the baklava. In the end, we were too stuffed to finish all of it but none of the clotted cream remained. This recipe is inspired by the baklava we savoured that day.