Baklava Cheesecake
If you are a fan of Baklava dessert,then this is a must-try! Baklava lovers (like me ! ) will enjoy the the flavors of mix roasted nuts with Cinnamon and honey filling, all together with a twist of traditional Greek dessert! The cheesecake is rich and creamy, and the flaky filo baklava layers on top provide a nice crunch. what a way to combine two delicious desserts into one! Oriental one ha! :)
I used phyllo dough for the crust and It’s the same one that’s used in actual baklava desserts, having it stick up over the edges of the cheesecake would give it a beautiful look! .....that what i thought! :)
Indeed,making the crust is not hard, but it does take some time. Same like when making baklava, the sheets of phyllo dough are layered with melted butter, phyllo dough tend to dry fast, so to prevent it from drying out while you are working with it, better keep a damp cloth over the dough sheets. Grab one piece of the dough at a time and add it to the cheesecake pan, spreading a little melted butter between each piece.
Dough sheets aren’t big enough to fully cover the pan, so you can use a few to get full coverage, add some melted butter and then add another layer with a few more sheets. that's also to keep the phyllo from over-baking.
The filling of the cheesecake is your standard cheesecake with a bunch of baklava mix roasted nuts filling in the middle. It’s a simple mixture , nuts, cinnamon, melted butter and honey, all tossed together and added to the middle of the cheesecake.
Once the cheesecake is baked and cooled, it’s topped with pistachios and drizzled with honey, but you have to handle the cheesecake with a bit of care , since the phyllo dough is pretty thin and can break easily once baked.
Baklava Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients :
for Crust :
around 20 Baklava phyllo dough sheets
4 Tablespoons melted butter .
Nuts/Cinnamon-Honey Filling :
1 cup mix chopped roasted nuts(walnuts,pistachios).
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder.
2 tablespoons melted butter
3 tablespoons honey .
For Cheesecake :
200 gm cream cheese, softened.
270 gm Greek Yogurt or Sour cream
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons honey
2 Tablespoons flour
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions :
-Preheat oven to 180 degree celsius , and in a bowl toss together nuts/cinnamon filling ingredients, set aside.
-In a bowl of electric mixer, mix cream cheese, sugar and flour until combined,on low speed to keep less air from getting into the batter, which can cause cracks), Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating slowly and scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition, add vanilla extract, and mix.
- Add Greek yogurt,honey, beating on low speed until well combined. Set aside.
- Grease a 22 cm springform pan with melted butter and cover the outside with aluminum foil to be ready for a water bath.
- To prepare the crust, unroll the phyllo dough according to package instructions. You’ll need to keep it from drying out by placing a damp towel over the pieces that haven’t been used yet. Using one piece at a time, place phyllo sheets into the bottom and up the sides of the springform pan. Sheets won’t be as big as the pan, so using a few for each layer will allow you get one full layer, brush phyllo sheets with melted butter, so that they stick together.
- When the crust is ready, add a small amount of cheesecake filling to the pan,add Nuts filling on top of the cheesecake filling, with even layer.
- Add the remaining cheesecake filling and spread into an even layer.
- Place springform pan (covered with aluminum foil) inside another bigger pan,fill outside pan with enough warm water to go about halfway up the sides of the springform pan,water should not go above the top edge of the aluminum foil on the springform pan.
- Reduce oven to 160 degrees celsius, bake cheesecake for 50-60 minutes, edges should be firm but the center will still be a little bet jiggly.
- Turn off heat and leave cheesecake in oven with door closed for 30 minutes.
- Crack oven door and leave the cheesecake in the oven to let it cool completely.
- Remove Baklava cheesecake from oven and from oven and chill until completely cool and firm.
- Top cheesecake with Pistachios and drizzle with honey and serve.
Bon Appétit! :)
