Baklava Cheesecake 
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Waiting Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories: 946kcal
Ingredients:
For the crispy baklava pastry:
1 pack of Filo pastry 1 pack of store-bought filo/phyllo (250g or 10 sheets)
50 g Unsalted butter, melted but not hot
140 g walnuts, roasted whole, then pulse blend
For the cream cheese filling:
450 g Cream cheese, e.g., full-fat Philadelphia, at room temperature
100 g Granulated sugar
15 g All-purpose flour (sieved)
3 Eggs at room temperature
75 g Heavy Cream with at least 36% fat content, and at room temperature
For the baklava honey syrup:
120 g Water
70 g Granulated sugar
50 g Honey
½ Lemon juice Juice of ½ a lemon
½ Lemon zest: Zest of the ½ 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
Optional garnish:
1 tablespoon dried rose petals
2 tablespoons Pistachio nuts
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 200C / 392F (no fan).
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.
Adjust the oven temperature to 180C / 356F (no fan).
Pulse the walnuts in a food processor until they are in tiny pieces, but do not grind them fully into flour. Alternatively, use a sharp knife to chop them by hand.
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.
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.
Melt the butter in the microwave to brush over the filo pastry.
Unwrap the phyllo pastry sheets and place them between two very lightly damp tea towels to prevent them from drying out.
Assembling the cheesecake:
Generously grease the bottom and inner sides of the springform pan with butter.
Lay 2 sheets of filo pastry inside the pan, brush with butter, and sprinkle over walnuts. Repeat 4 times.
Add 2 more sheets of filo pastry, then pour the cream cheese filling on top.
Trim the edges of the filo pastry with scissors so it is level with the top of the pan.
Baking the cheesecake:
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.
Making the syrup:
Boil all the ingredients except the rose water together in a saucepan for 5-10 minutes or until it slightly thickens and reaches a syrup consistency. Remove it from the heat, remove lemon zest pieces and cinnamon stick, then stir in the rosewater.
Finishing and serving the baklava cheesecake:
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.
Let the baklava cheesecake cool and further set in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours, then decorate it with pistachio nuts and rose petals (optional) and serve.
Serve it fresh or store it for 2-3 days refrigerated.
Notes:
INGREDIENT NOTES:
Make sure you buy whole walnuts (and not ground walnuts) and roast them in the oven before blending to allow the flavor to come out.
If you are using frozen filo pastry, bring it to room temperature first.
Use room-temperature ingredients for the cheesecake elements.
TECHNIQUE NOTES:
Whilst layering the baklava part of this dessert, pay attention to the phyllo and brush it with butter so that it doesn’t dry out.
The baking time is approximately 70 minutes, but adjust it to your own oven accordingly. The goal is that the phyllo turns a beautiful golden color and surrounds a well-baked, creamy cheesecake. If the cheesecake is browning too much on top, cover it with aluminum foil towards the end of the baking time.
Use a Digital oven thermometer to always bake at the right temperature.
The cheesecake will further set as it cools; let it chill in the fridge before cutting.
Storage & Freezing:
Serve this showstopper dessert fresh. Any leftover cheesecake can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days. The outer layers of the filo pastry will remain crisp, although the inner layers will soften slightly over time.
When serving leftovers, I like to drizzle over a little extra rosewater syrup beforehand.
I do not recommend freezing this baklava cheesecake recipe.
Flavor Variations:
There are several ways you can customize this baklava cheesecake recipe. For example, if you don’t like rosewater, you can try a different base flavor for the syrup by adding vanilla extract instead.
Adding orange juice and zest instead of lemon in the syrup adds a deliciously sweet and zingy taste to the baklava cheesecake. Infusing some cardamom seeds into the syrup is also delicious.
Walnuts are traditionally used in baklava cheesecake recipes, but hazelnuts or pistachios will taste just as delicious instead. You could even use pecans for a Fall dessert twist.
Ingredient substitutions:
You can use another inverted sugar syrup instead of honey, like date syrup, and if you have a nut allergy, you can leave these out.
The rich and creamy flavors in this recipe for baklava cheesecake do hinge on using eggs and dairy.
Can you use puff pastry instead of phyllo sheets? This baklava cheesecake recipe requires phyllo sheets, which I do not recommend substituting for puff pastry. The puff pastry has a much higher fat content and will not work as well with the cheesecake filling.
Expert tips to make baklava cheesecake
The heavy cream and eggs must be at room temperature to emulsify correctly into the cheesecake mixture.
Mix the cheesecake filling ingredients only until just fully combined; do not overmix. Using a stand mixer can risk overmixing, which is why I recommend an electric hand whisk.
If you use frozen sheets of filo pastry, allow them to come to room temperature first, but keep them in the packet to prevent drying out.
Please note that rose essence is much stronger than rose water, so you will need much less if you use this instead. Only use 100% natural, pure rose products for your health and maximum taste.
Make sure you buy whole walnuts and roast them in the oven before blending/chopping, which really brings out the nutty flavors.
This baklava cheesecake recipe requires a minimum of one hour of baking time, but every oven behaves differently. If the cheesecake is browning too much on top, cover it with aluminum foil towards the end of the baking time.
If your oven tends to burn dishes on the top, bake this cheesecake on the bottom shelf to protect the filo pastry. Adjust the baking time according to your oven if necessary.
The baklava cheesecake will set as it cools, so it needs at least 2 hours in the fridge before you can slice it, drizzle it with more honey syrup, and serve it.
Nutritional Facts:
Calories: 946kcal | Carbohydrates: 89g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 60g | Saturated Fat: 26g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 14g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 190mg | Sodium: 638mg | Potassium: 339mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 43g | Vitamin A: 1533IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 132mg | Iron: 4mg
Recipe courtesy of Spatula Desserts.com
I’ll make HER make it for me!
