Baklava Cheesecake

Submitted by Abi Fae

"I love playing with cheesecake recipes :) I used coconut sugar in the cake. It's far less sweet tasting. You can also use all butter in the crust. I like the texture coconut oil gives. The time does NOT include giving the cheesecake 24 hours to sit. You can make the syrup the next day so it's warm when you serve it."

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 20mins
• Ingredients: 20
• Serves: 16

ingredients

• Crust

• 1⁄4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1⁄4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 3 cups almond meal
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

• Cheesecake

• 40 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 cups sour cream
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 1⁄2 cup brown sugar
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cardamom
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon
• cardamom syrup
• 1 cup honey
• 1⁄4 cup lemon juice
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cardamom
• 1⁄4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1⁄8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup pistachios, chopped

directions

1. Crust:

2. Mix all ingredients thoroughly and press into a spring form pan. You want it going about 1" up the sides.
3. Poke the crust with a fork to keep it from bubbling, and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, or until brown.
4. Set aside to cool.

5. Cheesecake:

6. Mix the cream cheese with a beater. This is much easier to do at room temperature. Add the sour cream and beat until fully blended. Add the sugars and salt; mix thoroughly. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each. Add the lemon juice, spices, and vanilla. Mix until fully blended.
7. Pour onto the pie crust and tap the edges of the pan firmly to dislodge extra bubbles.
8. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Then turn off the oven and let the cake sit another hour before removing it to cool to room temperature. Do not open the oven until it has sat the hour without heat. It will collapse a bit and get cracks.

9. Cardamom Sauce:

10. Mix all ingredients, except the nuts, and cook over low heat. Bring slowly to a boil and let boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the nuts. Keep stirring as it cools for the next couple minutes.

11. To Serve:

12. Let the cheesecake sit 24 hours and then remove from the pan. Drizzle with the cardamom sauce and nuts.

Reviews

[Lightly Toasted]

Not particularly fond of the cardamom in this. I had never had it in baklava before, and I have been making baklava with my mom since I was a kid. After sampling the cheesecake batter, I decided to add extra cinnamon to compensate. I knew that my family wouldn't like the cardamom in the syrup, so I used our usual baklava syrup, which is 1 c water, 2 c sugar, 2 cinnamon sticks, 2 tbs orange flower water. This recipe makes a rich, dense, beautiful cheesecake. I used a 10 inch springform pan, and it was quite full. After a Lebanese family dinner, only the men could polish off a full piece, lol!