It’s been a while since I’ve blogged about a dessert recipe. Over a month in fact. Last time was No-Bake Amaretto Truffles I made in April. I don’t have a huge sweet tooth, but wow! I feel like I need to redeem myself in a big way, and this Baklava Cheesecake recipe sounds like it’s up to the challenge. Did I say I didn’t have a huge sweet tooth? I’m starting to wonder after reading over this recipe…
This Baklava Cheesecake is such a fun twist on the traditional Greek dessert. With all the flavors of cinnamon, honey and walnuts, it’s a fun way to mix together two delicious desserts into one!
The Ingredients
The majority of the ingredients for this Baklava Cheesecake were pretty standard. In other words, nothing hard to find or too expensive. The walnuts were the most expensive item (or items since I bought 2 bags) at just over $13.
I expected the phyllo dough to be a special trip to a gourmet grocery store, but even that was stocked in the frozen section. I wasn’t sure how much to buy, but a 1-pound box has 2 separate packets of dough and was more than enough.
And don’t forget the whipped cream. It’s not listed with the ingredients, but you’ll need it to top your cheesecake (Step 16). I added dollops of it throughout the topping. It lasted for a day or so, then it pretty much dissolved. Next time I’ll use canned whipped cream and add it to each slice as they are served.
The Process
I’m not the greatest baker, but the instructions for this recipe made it pretty easy. Most of the work was cooking basics like measuring, using a hand mixer, and stirring the filling/topping. The most difficult part was working with the delicate phyllo dough to make the crust. It’s like working with extremely fragile paper, and it tore a lot.
I tried covering the extra with a damp towel to keep it from drying out, but it just turned soggy. My towel may have been too damp, though, because I lost a few layers of dough and gave up on the towel– the dry dough was easier to work with than soggy. I finally figured out that the tears didn’t matter, though, since I was piecing the crust together anyway. It worked out in the end, but I wish I hadn’t left so much of the corners sticking up.
It took me 40 minutes of work to get my Baklava Cheesecake into the oven. After an hour of baking, I still had a very jiggly cheesecake. I was worried! But I followed through the instructions and placed my cheesecake into the refrigerator overnight to make sure it was completely set before I topped it. My worries were for nothing, and I found a perfectly done cheesecake the next day. Then it was just a few minutes to make the topping. Here’s how the whole process broke down:
- 40 minutes to make the crust and filling
- 1 hour 50 minutes to bake/rest in the oven
- 6 minutes to make the topping
- 2 hours 36 minutes total (not including time to cool)
You might be able to make this cheesecake in 1 day if you get an early start, but I recommend making it the day before so it has plenty of time to set.
