This baklava cheesecake recipe from Spinneys is a delicious way to round off a meal. Taking the traditional Middle Eastern flavours of the classic sweet baklava and making it into a cheese cake makes it extra tasty and special.
Prep time: 45 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Serves: 8
Ingredients:
For the crust
• 12 sheets filo dough
• 180g salted butter, divided and melted
• 200g pecan nuts
• 200g walnuts
For the cheesecake
• 400g full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
• 150g crème fraîche or sour cream, at
• room temperature
• 90g spinneysFOOD Extra Fine Caster Sugar
• 20g cake flour
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 100g white chocolate
• 1 pinch of ground cardamom
• Zest of 1 lemon
For the topping
• 1 cup spinneysFOOD Honey
• 125ml water
• 1 tsp orange blossom water
• 2 lemons, zested and juiced
Methods:
1. Preheat the oven to 140˚C, gas mark 2.
2. Grease a 22cm springform cake tin.
3. To prepare the crust, brush a filo dough sheet with butter and fold it in half. Carefully place into the lined springform. Repeat until the pan is completely covered with filo dough and eight tablespoons of butter are used. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, grind the pecan nuts and walnuts to a coarse, sand-like texture. Pour in remaining melted butter and salt and mix to combine. Press three quarters of the mixture into the bottom of the filo-lined pan (save the remaining mixture for the topping). Place on a baking tray and bake in the pre-heated oven for ten to 15 minutes or until golden and crispy. Set aside to cool.
4. To make the cheesecake, place the cream cheese, crème fraîche, sugar, flour, eggs, chocolate, cardamom and lemon zest together in a food processor and blend until smooth. Pour into the prepared crust.
5. Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until just set – it should have a slight wobble in the middle. Turn off the oven, leave the oven door ajar and allow to cool completely. Refrigerate until set.
6. To make the topping, combine the honey, water and orange blossom water in a small saucepan, and place over a medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for approximately 15 minutes until thick. Remove from the heat until cool, approximately 40 minutes. Stir in the remaining nut mixture (kept aside from the base) and set aside until the cheesecake is ready.
7. To assemble the cheesecake, remove the springform pan to reveal the baklava crust once the cheesecake has set and cooled. Top with the pecan and walnut mixture and serve.
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