Create a mixture by combining the chopped walnuts with cinnamon, cloves, and sugar. Set this aside then grease a 15x10x1 inch pan with butter.
Take the packs of phyllo dough and unroll them. Cut each stack into a 10-2/2x9 inch rectangle and keep them covered until ready to use so they don’t dry out.
Place 2 sheets of phyllo dough in the bottom of the baking pan and brush them with butter. Repeat this layering process 14 times before spreading the dough with 2 cups of the walnut mixture.
Add a further 5 layers of phyllo dough atop the mixture, making sure to brush each layer with butter. When done, spread the remaining walnut mixture over these layers.
Top this spread of walnut mixture with 1 layer of phyllo dough and brush with butter. Repeat this for a further 14 layers.
Once the dough layers are completed, cut the stack into 2-½-inch squares before cutting each square in half diagonally.
Brush the top of the dough with butter before putting the pan in the oven. Bake at 35 degrees until golden brown. This should take roughly 40-45 minutes.
While the dough bakes, make the syrup in a large saucepan. Mix the honey, water, sugar, and zest in the pan and bring them to a boil.
Reduce the heat and let the sauce simmer for 10 minutes before straining it to remove the zest. Allow it to cool until lukewarm.
Once removed from the oven, pour the sauce over the warmed baklava and allow it to sit overnight so it is properly absorbed.
