My great-grandmother, Emilija Jinek (neé Lončarević, 1914-1998) was the best cook in our family. Her grandchildren all called her “Grandma Ema.” The eldest child of an upper-class, Roman Catholic family in Modriča in today’s northern Bosnia and Herzegovina, Grandma Ema could make almost anything from the Balkans and beyond. My mother, Stela, particularly remembers her homemade noodles, cakes and a huge assortment of pickles and preserves.

Baklava is considered the most important dessert in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Known as the “queen of cakes”, it is made by Muslims for Eid and Christians for Christmas. It is also considered a must for birthdays and other celebrations. Bosnian baklava should always be juicy and moist “like biting into a honeycomb.” The filling is also split among at least several layers, rather than in a single layer between sheets of filo.

This recipe for baklava is Grandma Ema’s. The combination of lemon zest and raisins with walnuts was her idea. Despite being born into great wealth, Grandma Ema’s life was marked by tragedy. The last tragedy saw her forced from her home in 1992 during the Bosnian War. She never went home and died as a broken refugee. Because her home was looted, I have hardly anything that was hers. But this and some of her other recipes survived, and her legacy lives on through them.