10. Baklava Cheesecake
Added to the issues I have with getting access to post things easily these days my life is pretty much a cycle of get up/commute/work/commute/eat/sleep/repeat, so it’s rare there is ever anything exciting enough to post.
However this further entrey into 'things I've made' is at least IMHO even if I didn't get round to posting it nearer the time it happened.
Back in May, while staying with Bethran for a weekend of all-day lounging in dressing gowns and watching cheesy DVDs we decided to make a Baklava cheesecake. A diet of cheesy TV should always be accompanied by a cheese-based diet, and so cheesecake fitted into the theme perfectly. Coincidently, homemade, baked cheesecake is probably one of my all-time favourite puddings and I also adore Baklava, so when I came across this recipe, it seemed like fate.
Baklava Cheesecake
It’s actually surprisingly easy for something which looks so spectacular, which was a huge plus point and oh my did it taste good. I really do now wish I had a photo of the one we made, but it did look pretty much the same as the one on the web page.
We made a couple of minor changes to the recipe, the first fuelled by my general dislike of most walnuts. I say most, because I do actually really like fresh walnuts, but so often they are too old and just taste bitter and rancid. You don’t seem to get that problem with pistachios and I like them a lot, so we used them instead. I also layered some of the honey & nut mixture in between some of the layers of the base as otherwise it seemed like it would just be a big wodge of pastry. Don’t get me wrong as wodges of pastry go, filo is nice, but even nicer is filo with nuts and honey in it :-D We also used low fat Total Greek yoghurt, and it didn’t seem to affect it in either texture or taste and possibly lowered the calorie count a little, but then this really is never going to be diet food.
It was so good, so amazingly good, I’m looking for my next excuse to make it again. Just in case the web page ever goes down, here’s the recipe we used, with our changes.
Baklava Cheesecake
Yield: One 8-inch cheesecake, 10 servings
Prep:1 hour 30 minutes
Total: 3 hours
Ingredients
Cinnamon-honey drenching syrup
1 cup granulated sugar (8 oz)
1 1/3 cups water (10.7 oz)
1 cup honey (250 ml)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cheesecake
6 oz. pistachios
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
20 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
12oz low fat Greek yogurt
6oz granulated sugar (6 oz.)
3 eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4oz butter, melted
12-14 sheets filo pastry
Method
1. Make the honey drenching syrup first. Stir together the sugar, water and honey over medium-high heat.
2. Bring to a simmer and let cook for 20-25 minutes until reduced and syrupy. You should have around 3/4 to 1 pint of liquid after cooking.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F, 180°C (170°C Fan oven) Gas Mark 4.
4. Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and toast for 5-8 minutes in the oven.
5. Let cool, then chop 5 oz. finely, either in a food processor or by hand. Reserve remaining 1 oz. nuts for topping the cheesecake. Reduce the oven to 325°F, 160°C (Fan oven) Gas Mark 3.
6. Transfer the 5 oz. finely chopped nuts to a bowl and add 4floz of the drenching syrup, the salt and cinnamon. Stir together and set aside.
7. Mix the cream cheese, Greek yogurt, sugar and vanilla extract together either by hand or in a food processor. Add the eggs and mix again. Let rest while you prepare the filo crust.
8. Line the bottom of an 8” springform pan with baking parchment.
9. Lightly brush a filo sheet with butter, fold in half then lay the sheet inside the pan allowing one end of the pastry to overhang the top edge of the spring-form pan. Brush the bottom with more butter.
10. Repeat process with 9 more sheets of filo; turn and overlap the pieces until the bottom of the pan is completely covered. If desired, layer a small amount of the nut mixture between the sheets when you’re about half way through.
11. Pour cheesecake mix into the crust then place spoonfuls of the nut mix on top of the cheesecake filling, rippling them through the mix..
12. Fold the overhanging filo edges onto the top of the cheesecake filling.
13. Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes, or until the center is set. Covering the top about 3.4 the way through with some foil to prevent it overbrowning.
14. When cooked, do not remove cheesecake from the oven - turn off the oven and prop the oven door open (about 5” or so) and let the oven cool down completely (about 40 minutes).
15. Remove cheesecake from the oven and re-heat the oven 350°F, 180°C (170°C Fan oven) Gas Mark 4.. 16. Brush the remaining pieces of filo with butter and place them in a crumpled fashion on the top of the cheesecake.
17. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the newly added filo has turned golden.
18. Cool to room temperature.
19. Top cheesecake with the remaining 1 oz. of toasted nuts and then pour on the drenching syrup.
20. Serve the leftover syrup with the cheesecake.
However this further entrey into 'things I've made' is at least IMHO even if I didn't get round to posting it nearer the time it happened.
Back in May, while staying with Bethran for a weekend of all-day lounging in dressing gowns and watching cheesy DVDs we decided to make a Baklava cheesecake. A diet of cheesy TV should always be accompanied by a cheese-based diet, and so cheesecake fitted into the theme perfectly. Coincidently, homemade, baked cheesecake is probably one of my all-time favourite puddings and I also adore Baklava, so when I came across this recipe, it seemed like fate.
Baklava Cheesecake
It’s actually surprisingly easy for something which looks so spectacular, which was a huge plus point and oh my did it taste good. I really do now wish I had a photo of the one we made, but it did look pretty much the same as the one on the web page.
We made a couple of minor changes to the recipe, the first fuelled by my general dislike of most walnuts. I say most, because I do actually really like fresh walnuts, but so often they are too old and just taste bitter and rancid. You don’t seem to get that problem with pistachios and I like them a lot, so we used them instead. I also layered some of the honey & nut mixture in between some of the layers of the base as otherwise it seemed like it would just be a big wodge of pastry. Don’t get me wrong as wodges of pastry go, filo is nice, but even nicer is filo with nuts and honey in it :-D We also used low fat Total Greek yoghurt, and it didn’t seem to affect it in either texture or taste and possibly lowered the calorie count a little, but then this really is never going to be diet food.
It was so good, so amazingly good, I’m looking for my next excuse to make it again. Just in case the web page ever goes down, here’s the recipe we used, with our changes.
Baklava Cheesecake
Yield: One 8-inch cheesecake, 10 servings
Prep:1 hour 30 minutes
Total: 3 hours
Ingredients
Cinnamon-honey drenching syrup
1 cup granulated sugar (8 oz)
1 1/3 cups water (10.7 oz)
1 cup honey (250 ml)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cheesecake
6 oz. pistachios
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
20 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
12oz low fat Greek yogurt
6oz granulated sugar (6 oz.)
3 eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4oz butter, melted
12-14 sheets filo pastry
Method
1. Make the honey drenching syrup first. Stir together the sugar, water and honey over medium-high heat.
2. Bring to a simmer and let cook for 20-25 minutes until reduced and syrupy. You should have around 3/4 to 1 pint of liquid after cooking.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F, 180°C (170°C Fan oven) Gas Mark 4.
4. Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and toast for 5-8 minutes in the oven.
5. Let cool, then chop 5 oz. finely, either in a food processor or by hand. Reserve remaining 1 oz. nuts for topping the cheesecake. Reduce the oven to 325°F, 160°C (Fan oven) Gas Mark 3.
6. Transfer the 5 oz. finely chopped nuts to a bowl and add 4floz of the drenching syrup, the salt and cinnamon. Stir together and set aside.
7. Mix the cream cheese, Greek yogurt, sugar and vanilla extract together either by hand or in a food processor. Add the eggs and mix again. Let rest while you prepare the filo crust.
8. Line the bottom of an 8” springform pan with baking parchment.
9. Lightly brush a filo sheet with butter, fold in half then lay the sheet inside the pan allowing one end of the pastry to overhang the top edge of the spring-form pan. Brush the bottom with more butter.
10. Repeat process with 9 more sheets of filo; turn and overlap the pieces until the bottom of the pan is completely covered. If desired, layer a small amount of the nut mixture between the sheets when you’re about half way through.
11. Pour cheesecake mix into the crust then place spoonfuls of the nut mix on top of the cheesecake filling, rippling them through the mix..
12. Fold the overhanging filo edges onto the top of the cheesecake filling.
13. Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes, or until the center is set. Covering the top about 3.4 the way through with some foil to prevent it overbrowning.
14. When cooked, do not remove cheesecake from the oven - turn off the oven and prop the oven door open (about 5” or so) and let the oven cool down completely (about 40 minutes).
15. Remove cheesecake from the oven and re-heat the oven 350°F, 180°C (170°C Fan oven) Gas Mark 4.. 16. Brush the remaining pieces of filo with butter and place them in a crumpled fashion on the top of the cheesecake.
17. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the newly added filo has turned golden.
18. Cool to room temperature.
19. Top cheesecake with the remaining 1 oz. of toasted nuts and then pour on the drenching syrup.
20. Serve the leftover syrup with the cheesecake.