Baklava Cheesecake

Baklava Cheesecake is everything you love about Baklava in cheesecake form! This Greek Baklava cheesecake is a perfect blend of buttery phyllo dough, sweet honey, crunchy nuts, and creamy rich cheesecake!

Prep Time1 30

Cook Time1 10

cooling8

Total Time10 40

Course: cheesecake, Dessert

Cuisine: American, Greek

Keyword: Baklava Cheesecake

Servings: pieces

Calories: 446kcal

Author: Jessica & Nellie

Ingredients

Crust:

½ cup finely ground pistachios
½ cup finely ground walnuts
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
⅛ tsp cloves
8 oz phyllo dough
½ cup melted butter

Cheesecake:

24 oz cream cheese 3 8oz packages
⅔ cup honey
3 eggs
⅓ cup heavy cream
¼ cup sour cream
2 tsp lime juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
2 TBSP cornstarch

Syrup topping:

⅔ cup honey
⅓ cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
⅓ cup chopped pistachios
⅓ cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Gently spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
Crust: In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the pistachios, walnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside.
Then, open your phyllo dough and unroll it onto a piece of parchment paper and cover with a slightly damp kitchen towel. Next, use a pastry brush to brush a thin layer of melted butter onto one layer of phyllo dough.
Carefully place your brushed layer of dough into the springform pan so that it starts in the center of the pan and goes up and over the sides of the pan. Repeat with 3 more layers of the dough, lay in them into the pan in an overlapping manner so that the entire inside of the pan is well covered.
After that, sprinkle a thin layer of the spiced nut mixture over the top of the dough in the pan.
Then, brush 4 more pieces of phyllo dough and layer them in the pan in an overlapping manner as you just did so that the inside is covered. Proceed to sprinkle more of the spiced nut mixture on top of the phyllo dough.
Continue this process until all of the phyllo dough and nut mixture has been used. Make sure to end with the phyllo dough on top.
Cheesecake filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, place the cream cheese and honey and beat for about2 minutes on high speed to make it creamy and smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and make sure that no cream cheese lumps remain.
Next, add in the eggs and beat together for 30 seconds or until fully combined.
Then, add in the heavy cream, sour cream, lime juice, vanilla extract, salt, and mix until smooth. Now, mix in the cornstarch until fully combined.
Bake: Procced to pour the cream cheese batter into the springform pan on top of the phyllo dough crust and smooth it out. Trim off any excess phyllo dough from the top edges of the pan.
Then, wrap the bottom and the sides of the springform pan with tin foil to prevent water from seeping in.
Place the springform pan into a large baking pan or broiler pan. Fill the pan with 1 inch of warm water to create a water bath. Place the pans into the oven and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the cheesecake has set. The center of the cheesecake should still be jiggly.
Once baked, turn off the heat and allow the cheesecake to rest in the oven with the door closed for 30 minutes.
After that, prop the door to the oven open and let cool for another 30 minutes (one hour of rest in the oven in total).
Then, remove the cheesecake from the oven and unwrap the foil from the sides. Place onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap or foil and place into the fridge to chill for at least 8 hours.
Syrup topping: In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, add the honey, water, vanilla extract, and salt, bring to a boil.
Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and stir. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes or until thickened and somewhat reduced.
Once thickened, remove from heat and let cool in the pan for 30 minutes.
After the mixture has cooled, stir in the chopped nuts.
Assemble and serve: Remove the cheesecake from the fridge and uncover it. Proceed to pour the syrup over the top and spread it out to reach the edges of the pan.
Then, release the sides of the springform pan. Slice and serve the cheesecake. Enjoy!

Notes

Cheesecake may be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

For a crunchier baklava crust, bake the cheesecake for 1 ½ hours.

Follow all of the directions completely as this cheesecake recipe has come about through many trials and tests. The mixing times and bake times are precisely what they should be to achieve the perfect cheesecake.

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