Baklava Cheesecake
The amazing melt in your mouth flavors of baklava meet their match with this cheesecake dessert. This cheesecake recipe is sure to surprise and delight. Baklava cheesecake is a fancy dish you can make any night.
Ingredients
- 1 pre-made pie crust
- 32 ounce cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup clover honey
- 1/4 cup plus one tablespoon lemon juice, fresh
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 6 jumbo eggs, room temperature
- 1 (8-ounce) package phyllo dough
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1/2 cup almonds, blanched
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 cinnamon
- 1/2 tablespoon butter (unsalted), clarified
- 1 (1.5-inch) cinnamon stick
- 1 tablespoon cognac
Instructions
- Beat cream cheese in large bowl of electric mixer until light & fluffy. Gradually mix in honey, then lemon juice & vanilla. Beat in eggs 1 at a time until just incorporated. Set aside.
- Stir through filling & pour into crust. Cover filling with overhanging phyllo, squaring at edge of pan. Bake until pastry is light brown and cake is firm to touch, about 50 mins.
- Remove pan sides; using toothpick, poke 12 holes in top of cake to allow steam to escape. Cool completely on rack. Refrigerate 2 days to mellow flavors, covering after first day.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cover baking sheet with 2 pieces of parchment.
- Coarsely grind all nuts with 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in processor.
- Stack 10 reserved phyllo pastry sheets on work surface. Set rim of 10-inch springform pan atop pastry.
- Cut around inside of rim through entire stack using sharp knife, making 10 rounds. Cover rounds with damp towel. Set pan rim on prepared baking sheet.
- Brush parchment and inside of pan rim with butter. Place one pastry round in pan rim and brush with butter. Repeat with four more rounds.
- Spread nut mixture evenly over pastry. Top with remaining 5 pastry rounds, brushing each with butter. Using ruler as guide, cut pastry into 16 wedges (or however many pieces you want) with sharp knife. Sprinkle lightly with water.
- Bake until crisp and golden, about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat 1/2 cup sugar, water, and lemon juice in heavy small saucepan over low heat, swirling pan occasionally until sugar dissolves.
- Add cinnamon stick, increase heat to medium and boil until syrupy, about 4 minutes.
- Remove from heat. When bubbles subside, add Cognac. Flatten pastry atop cake. Remove pan rim from topping. Set topping on cake, using large spatula.
- Re-cut wedges.
- Replace pan rim on assembled cake. Immediately pour on hot syrup.
- Cool one hour.
- Refrigerate one to 6 hours, preferably six hours.
- Let cake stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.