It's Cake Slice time again! I cannot tell you how excited I am about this group! All the beautiful, delicious cakes we are going to bake this year!
I have already told you how much I like baklava for Christmas in my White Chocolate and Cranberry Baklava post last week. And it is true! There is nothing better than a syrupy, buttery piece of baklava to finish (or start) a Christmas gathering in our house. Or maybe there is...
A baklava cheesecake! A classic baked cheesecake that uses ground nuts (baklava's most common filling) for its base, is stuffed with whole baklava pieces on the inside and is drizzled with an aromatic orange and cinnamon syrup! Yes! there is such a thing. It is super delicious and it was the recipe from The Southern Cake Book
I chose to bake this months for The Cake Slice group.
After last month's success with the Gluten Free Caramel Apple Cake I was so looking forward to our new options for December. I was checking the announcement board every day! And when Laura's choices were announced I almost jumped from joy! Baklava Cheesecake. The words flushed in front of me and I am pretty sure I didn't even read the rest of the recipes (now that I am looking at my fellow Cake Slicers creations I feel very sweet about the rum cake mmm, maybe a gift for our Christmas Day lunch at the in-laws?!)
But back to the star of the show, the cheesecake. I used the last remaining pieces from the white chocolate and cranberry baklava and thought that since there were pistachios in the baklava it was only fitting that I use chopped pistachios as well as walnuts to make the base. The cheese filling is made from cream cheese and mascarpone and it's supposed to be smooth and flat. Mine was not, as you can see from the pictures. But it was not my fault.
I blame the oven. I am telling you, this oven is going to be my undoing as a food blogger! I am not exaggerating. The dial showed 150C but a thermometer I had placed inside when I realised there was something wrong with the temperature a few weeks ago showed 200C!!! There was no way I could bake a cheesecake at 200 degrees! I opened the oven, turned the dial down to 50C and eventually I managed to get the temperature down to 160C. But it didn't stay there for long. 45 minutes in and I noticed the thermometer had risen to 180C again. But the cheesecake was far from baked and then the sides started rising and a big crack was forming in the centre just in front of my eyes! I gave up. I left it in the oven for 15 more minutes, crossed my fingers and decided that as long as it was baked it didn't matter that there was a huge gash in the middle! In the end the syrup covered things up a bit.
Aside from my oven debacle this cheesecake is exceptional. And the best part. you don't have to make baklava from scratch. Just buy ready made and give this cheesecake a try!
And don't forget to scroll down to the end of the page to see all the delicious cakes my fellow Cake Slicers baked this month!
Ingredients
For the Base
Instructions
Για 10 άτομα
Υλικά
Για τη βάση
But back to the star of the show, the cheesecake. I used the last remaining pieces from the white chocolate and cranberry baklava and thought that since there were pistachios in the baklava it was only fitting that I use chopped pistachios as well as walnuts to make the base. The cheese filling is made from cream cheese and mascarpone and it's supposed to be smooth and flat. Mine was not, as you can see from the pictures. But it was not my fault.
I blame the oven. I am telling you, this oven is going to be my undoing as a food blogger! I am not exaggerating. The dial showed 150C but a thermometer I had placed inside when I realised there was something wrong with the temperature a few weeks ago showed 200C!!! There was no way I could bake a cheesecake at 200 degrees! I opened the oven, turned the dial down to 50C and eventually I managed to get the temperature down to 160C. But it didn't stay there for long. 45 minutes in and I noticed the thermometer had risen to 180C again. But the cheesecake was far from baked and then the sides started rising and a big crack was forming in the centre just in front of my eyes! I gave up. I left it in the oven for 15 more minutes, crossed my fingers and decided that as long as it was baked it didn't matter that there was a huge gash in the middle! In the end the syrup covered things up a bit.
Aside from my oven debacle this cheesecake is exceptional. And the best part. you don't have to make baklava from scratch. Just buy ready made and give this cheesecake a try!
And don't forget to scroll down to the end of the page to see all the delicious cakes my fellow Cake Slicers baked this month!
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Serves 10Ingredients
For the Base
- 100gr (1 cup) walnut halves
- 80 gr (1/2 cup) pistachios, shelled
- 30 gr (2 tablespoons) butter, melted
- 50 gr (1/4 cup) sugar
- 550 gr cream cheese, softened
- 220 gr mascarpone cheese, softened
- 150 gr (3/4 cup) sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 pieces White Chocolate and Cranberries Baklava or any other
- 12 walnut halves
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 teaspoons water
- 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Butter a 22cm/9in springform pan.
- Put walnuts, pistachios and 50gr sugar in a food processor and pulse until all are finely ground. Add butter and pulse again until the mixture becomes crumbly.
- Press the mixture on the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes until lightly browned. Set it aside to cool.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 150C/300F.
- In a large bowl beat cream cheese, mascarpone cheese and sugar at medium speed. Add the eggs, 1 at a time and mix well until they blend before add the next. At the end add the vanilla.
- Cut each baklava piece in half to form 2 triangles and arrange the wide edges along the ring of the pan on the baked crust so that the pointy end is looking towards the centre.
- Pour the cheese mix into the pan so that it covers the baklava pieces.
- Bake at 150C/300F for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven. Run a knife around the edges of the cheesecake to loosen it. Cool completely (it could take 2 or more hour). Cover with aluminium foil and chill in the fridge for at least 8 hours.
- Combine the honey, water and orange zest in a small saucepan oven medium heat. Bring to a boil and remove from hear. Cool completely before you drizzle on the cheesecake.
- When you are ready to serve remove the sides of the pan. Arrange the walnut halves on the cheesecake and drizzle with the honey syrup.
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Υλικά
Για τη βάση
- 100 γρ καρύδια
- 80 γρ φυστίκια
- 30 γρ βούτυρο, λιωμένο
- 50 γρ ζάχαρη
- 550 γρ τυρί κρέμα
- 220 γρ μασκαρπόνε
- 150 γρ ζάχαρη
- 3 μεγάλα αυγά
- 1 κουταλάκι εσάνς βανίλιας
- 5 κομμάτια μπακλαβά με Λευκή Σοκολάτα και Κράμπερις ή οποιοδήποτε άλλο
- 12 καρύδια κομμένα στη μέση
- 1/2 φλιτζάνι μέλι
- 2 κουταλάκια νερό
- 1/2 κουταλάκι ξύσμα πορτοκαλιού
- Προθερμαίνουμε το φούρνο στους 180 βαθμούς. Βουτυρώνουμε ένα ταψί με αποσπώμενο στεφάνι διαμέτρου 22 εκατοστών.
- Βάζουμε τα καρύδια, τα φυστίκια και 50 γρ ζάχαρη στο μούλτι και τα αλέθουμε πολύ. Προσθέτουμε το βούτυρο και συνεχίζουμε για λίγο μέχρι το μείγμα να γίνει σαν άμμος.
- Απλώνουμε το μείγμα στο ταψί και το πατάμε καλά. Ψήνουμε στο φούρνο για 10 λεπτά μέχρι να πάρει χρώμα. Το αφήνουμε να κρυώσει.
- Χαμηλώνουμε το φούρνου στους 150 βαθμούς.
- Χτυπάμε τα τυριά και τη ζάχαρη σε ένα μεγάλο μπολ σε μεσαία ταχύτητα και προσθέτουμε ένα - ένα τα αβγά και τέλος την βανίλια.
- Κόβουμε κάθε κομμάτι μπακλαβά στα δύο έτσι ώστε να σχηματιστούν 2 τριγωνάκια. Τα τοποθετούμε στο ταψί με την φαρδιά πλευρά προς τα τοιχώματα και την μύτη να κοιτάει προς το κέντρο.
- Ρίχνουμε το μείγμα των τυριών στο ταψί και προσέχουμε να καλύπτει τα κομματάκια του μπακλάβά.
- Ψήνουμε στους 150 βαθμούς για 1 ώρα και 15 λεπτά.
- Βγάζουμε από το φούρνο. Περνάμε ένα μαχαίρι γύρω γύρω από τα τοιχώματα του ταψιού και το αφήνουμε να κρυώσει καλά (μέχρι και 2 ώρες). Το καλύπτουμε με αλουμινόχαρτο και το βάζουμε στο ψυγείο για τουλάχιστον 8 ώρες.
- Βάζουμε το μέλι, το νερό και το ξύσμα πορτοκαλιού σε ένα μικρό κατσαρολάκι, σε μέτρια φωτιά. Το αφήνουμε να πάρει μια βράση και το αποσύρουμε από τη φωτιά. Το αφήνουμε να κρυώσει εντελώς πριν το ρίξουμε στο cheesecake.
- Όταν είμαστε έτοιμοι να σερβίρουμε το cheesecake, αφαιρούμε το στεφάνι του ταψιού και το περιχύνουμε με το σιρόπι.
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