Baklava cheesecake (VIDEO)
Elevating classic baklava one step further, this is a must-try recipe for baklava and cheesecake lovers. Lighter than traditional baklava but with all the added flavor of a traditional cheesecake, baklava cheesecake is the best of both worlds!
Ingredients
- 1 pack Filo pastry (1 pack of store-bought filo/phyllo (250g or 10 sheets))
- 50 g Unsalted butter (melted but not hot)
- 140 g Walnut (roasted whole walnut, then pulse blend)
- 450 g Cream cheese (e.g. full-fat Philadelphia, at room temperature)
- 120 g Granulated sugar
- 15 g All purpose flour ((sieved) )
- 3 Eggs (at room temperature )
- 75 g Heavy Cream (at least 36% fat content, and at room temperature)
- 118 g Water
- 70 g Granulated sugar
- 50 g Honey
- ½ Lemon juice (Juice of 1/2 a lemon)
- ½ Lemon zest (Zest of the 1/2 lemon. Peel it into 2-3 pieces so that you can take them out of the syrup later.)
- Cinnamon stick (medium size)
- 1 tablespoon Rose water (only use pure 100% natural rosewater)
- 1 tablespoon Dried rose petals
- 2 tablespoon Pistachio nuts
Directions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 200C / 392F (no fan).
- 2
Roast the walnuts on an oven tray for 5-10 minutes. Take care not to burn the nuts, and remove them from the oven once you start to notice a lovely nutty smell.
- 3
Adjust the oven temperature to 180C / 356F (no fan).
- 4
Pulse the walnuts in a food processor until they are in tiny pieces, but do not grind them fully to flour. Alternatively, use a sharp knife to chop them by hand.
- 5
In a large mixing bowl, use an electric hand whisk to cream the room-temperature Philadelphia cheese (or other) with the sugar for 1-2 minutes or until fluffy.
- 6
Mix in the flour, add the room-temperature eggs, and finally add the room-temperature heavy cream. Mix just until combined, and do not over-mix.
- 7
Melt the butter in the microwave to brush over the filo pastry.
- 8
Unwrap the phyllo pastry sheets and place rthem between two very lightly damp tea towels to prevent them from drying out.
- 9
Generously grease the bottom and inner sides of the springform pan with butter.
- 10
Bake your baklava cheesecake for 45 minutes, then gently remove the sides of the spring form pan and bake for a further 25 minutes to allow the sides to go golden brown in color. Adjust the baking time to your oven if necessary.
- 11
Boil all the ingredients except the rose water together in a saucepan for 5-10 minutes or until it slightly thickens and reaches syrup consistency. Remove it from the heat, remove lemon zest pieces and cinnamon stick, then stir in the rosewater.
- 12
Pour the syrup over the cheesecake as soon as the cheesecake comes out of the oven. Focus on pouring syrup on the filo pastry around the edges, with only a small amount in the center.