Baklava Cheesecake

Yes, you read that right. It’s a wheel of baklava sitting atop a honey cinnamon cheesecake with a nutty shortbread crust all around. This recipe was a lot of fun, and while it was labor intensive, it was not difficult nor complicated.

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Click here for the recipe. Her blog is great (and has a fantastic name) and she includes pictures for every step!

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Please note the “melistixo” brand honey. Melissa is a greek name that means honey bee, so it felt extra appropriate for me to use it in this dessert!

Making my own baklava made me even more appreciative for good Greek pastry shops that make it for you — it is not for the faint-hearted. But it was a lot of fun and so rewarding, even if it did take 45 minutes solid just to shell, peel, and chop our pistachios. 

Our change

• Used walnuts instead of pecans

No seriously that was the only change. I usually play around with recipes I find online but didn’t feel the need to mess with this one!

Next time we will

• Flatten the shortbread crust down at the top rather than having it crawl up the sides and come to a point.
• Cover the crust with foil earlier. We baked for 45, then covered, then baked another 30 minutes before it was done. I think next time I’ll tent it around the half hour mark so the edge doesn’t get quite so done.
• Maybe use just a bit more syrup? Our top few layers of phyllo were a little dry but that could just be user error and lazy buttering.

 

Give it a try! It’s a showstopper for sure.