Ingredients:
- for the base
- fine phyllo pastry sheets - 400 g
- butter - 150 g
- walnuts - 180 g
- cinnamon - 1 tsp
- for the cream
- cream cheese - 600 g
- sour cream - 200 g
- sugar - 130 g
- eggs - 4
- cornstarch - 15 g
- vanilla - 1 tsp
- grated lemon zest - 1 tsp
- for the syrup
- honey - 120 g
- water - 100 ml
- lemon juice - 1 tbsp
- for sprinkling
- pistachios - 70 g
Preheat the oven to 170°C without the fan. Grease a 24 cm round cake tin with butter, then arrange approximately two-thirds of the pastry sheets in it, one after another. Brush each sheet with melted butter, leaving the edges hanging over the sides of the tin. This creates the dessert’s tall, crispy frame.
Coarsely chop the walnuts, mix them with the cinnamon and distribute them over the pastry. To prepare the cream, stir the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Then add the sour cream, vanilla, lemon zest and cornstarch. Add the eggs one at a time and stir the mixture briefly.
Baking, Syrup and Cooling
Pour the cream over the walnut layer. Gather the remaining pastry sheets and the overhanging edges around it, without covering the centre, and brush them generously with butter. Bake the dessert for 55-60 minutes. It is ready when the pastry is well browned, the edges of the cream are set and the centre jiggles slightly when shaken.
While the cheesecake is baking, prepare a syrup from 120 g of honey, 100 ml of water and one tablespoon of lemon juice. Simmer the mixture for 5 minutes over medium heat. After baking, leave the dessert in the tin for 10 minutes, then pour the warm syrup mainly over the pastry and nut-covered edge. Sprinkle chopped pistachios on top.
The baklava cheesecake must cool completely before being placed in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. Cut it with a sharp knife and store it covered for up to 3 days. Over time, the pastry gradually softens from the syrup.
Source: recepti.gotvach.bg