Baklava cheesecake is an exquisite dessert that marries the creamy, smooth richness of traditional cheesecake with the nutty, and syrupy delight of baklava.
This is the ultimate treat for anyone who loves baklava & cheesecake, perfectly marries the best of two beloved desserts from different culinary traditions. It’s a favorite in places that embrace both Middle Eastern and Western dessert traditions, offering a unique twist that appeals to lovers of both original dishes.
Making this had been on my must try list for a while & I’m truly glad that I tried this. One of the best desserts I’ve made & is a showstopper dessert for any parties.
Baklava cheesecake tastes delish when served chilled. My taste buds went wild while having this dessert, absolutely decadent.
Recipe Courtesy: Cooking With Zahra
Preparation Pictures
Bottom Phyllo layers
Pistachio mixture
Cheesecake batter
Pleated phyllo sheet layers
The Most Decadent & Ultimate Baklava Cheesecake Recipe
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Thasneen
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 8 wedges
Ingredients
- Phyllo pastry sheets- 16 sheets
- Butter, melted- ¾ cup
For making pistachio layer
- Ground pistachios- ¾ cup or 200g
- Butter, melted- ⅓ cup
- White granulated sugar- 4 tbsp
For making cheesecake
- Cream cheese, at room temperature- 600g
- Heavy cream- ½ cup
- White sugar- ½ cup
- Cornstarch- 4 tbsp
- Eggs, at room temperature- 3
- Rose water- 1 tsp
For making sugar syrup
- White granulated sugar- ½ cup
- Honey- ¼ cup
- Water- ¼ cup + 1½ tbsp
- Lemon juice- 1 tbsp
- Rose water- 1 tsp
For garnish
- Crushed pistachios- 2 tbsp
- Rose petals- ½ tbsp (optional)
Instructions
- I've used total 16 phyllo pastry sheets.
- Keep the frozen phyllo sheets over the counter top & let thaw for an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F or 180 C.
- Use a 9-inch springform pan.
- Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
- For the bottom layer, I've placed 8 layers of phyllo sheets.
- Using a pastry brush, evenly spread melted butter over each phyllo pastry sheet.
- Place the buttered phyllo sheet into the pan. Total 8 phyllo sheets have to be kept on top of each other.
- The sheets will be hanging over the pan, using a scissor cut the hanging edges.
- The cut edges can be kept over the phyllo sheet.
- Be very gentle while handling the phyllo sheets, it's paper thin & can break apart.
- Keep the pan into the preheated oven & bake for 15 minutes, don't skip this step.
- After 15 minutes take the pan out of the oven & let cool down.
- In a bowl, combine ground pistachios, melted butter & sugar.
- Using a spatula, evenly spread ¾ of the pistachio mixture over the baked phyllo pastry & gently press them down.
Making cheesecake batter
- Use room temperature cream cheese & eggs.
- To a large bowl, add the cream cheese.
- The cream cheese I've used wasn't too soft, so I mixed it well using an electric hand mixer.
- If the cream cheese is very soft, you can use a silicone spatula & combine well.
- Add heavy cream & white sugar, combine well using the spatula till smooth.
- Add corn starch, combine well.
- Add eggs, one at a time & combine well using the spatula or use an electric hand mixer & beat at low speed.
- Very important: don't over mix or beat the batter.
- I've also added 1 tsp rose water. If you have orange blossom essence you can also add that.
- Rose water will impart a nice fragrance, I absolutely loved the addition of rose water. However, don't add more than 1 tsp, it will be overwhelming.
- Pour the cheesecake batter over the pistachio layer.
- Gently tap the pan to remove any bubbles.
- Take one phyllo sheet, spread with melted butter, fold the sheet & place over the cheesecake batter.
- Spread the remaining pistachio over the folded phyllo sheet.
- Next, we have to fold the phyllo sheets into pleats & keep them in a circular direction.
- I've used total 7 phyllo sheets.
- Spread melted butter over each sheet, gently make 1 inch pleats lengthwise & place the pleated sheet in circular direction.
- Layer with remaining pleated sheets, this way it will resemble rose petals.
- For making centre layers, you can half the phyllo sheet, make pleats & layer them at the centre.
- Gently take the pan & keep it in the preheated oven (350 F or 180 C).
- Bake for 55 minutes.
Making sugar syrup
- In the meantime, let's make the sugar syrup.
- I've halved the ingredients for the sugar syrup, if you prefer this dessert to be very sweet you can double the ingredients accordingly.
- To a saucepan, add the sugar, honey, water, lemon juice & rose water. Combine well.
- Place the pan over medium heat, keep stirring till the sugar has dissolved.
- Let the mixture come to a slight boil.
- Lower the heat & simmer for 10 minutes till the sugar syrup turns thick.
- Take the pan off the heat & let cool down.
- After 55 minutes, take the baklava cheesecake out of the oven & keep it on the counter top & let cool down slightly.
- Using a spoon, drizzle the sugar syrup over the baked baklava cheesecake. Pour the entire syrup over the phyllo layer.
- Garnish with crushed pistachios & rose petals.
- After it has cooled down, detach the springform pan.
- Keep the baklava cheesecake in the refrigerator & let chill for at least 5 hours.
- It's better to chill overnight, that way the cheesecake will be set perfectly.
- Don't slice it without chilling, the cheesecake will not be set well.
- While serving, using a serrated knife cut into wedges.
- You'll be able to slice into 8 large wedges.
- Just indulge in this out of the world dessert, the crispy buttery phyllo, the crunchy pistachios, the rich & creamy cheesecake, your tastebuds will go wild.
- Absolutely YUM.
- Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for 3 days, cover it with cling wrap & store in the refrigerator.
- After 3 days, the phyllo layers will lose its crunchy texture.
