Baklava Cheesecake

What is a Baklava Cheesecake?

Hello! How are you? How have you been! I've been experimenting in the kitchen and came up with a marriage of divine flavors - baklava cheesecake. Baklava is Middle Eastern dessert made with phyllo dough, crushed nuts like pistachios, and a honey syrup. It's comprised of crispy, flaky, buttery layers divided by sticky sweet honey and nuts. It's sooo good! I've made baklava a few times before, to win brownie points with my in-laws who are from the Middle East. After their critique and constructive criticism of each batch of baklava, I eventually figured out how to make a crowd-pleaser. So I was ready for the next level - combining crunchy, flaky baklava with something utterly creamy and decadent like dairy free cheesecake.

So what exactly is "baklava cheesecake"? Well, I first read about the idea of this genius creation in the book Why We Cook. It described a baklava cheesecake as having a graham cracker crust, a cheesecake filling flavored with cardamom and rose water, and layers of phyllo dough and nuts on top. I thought adding the baklava on top may be difficult. And I wondered if there was a way to completely take out the traditional graham cracker crust to make this dessert something entirely new. So why not make the baklava the crust of the cheesecake? It's already flaky and crunchy, just like a crust!

So my version of a baklava cheesecake is layers of phyllo dough with chopped pistachios and honey on the bottom. The phyllo dough also goes up the sides of the cheesecake, enveloping it all in buttery-flaky-goodness. The cheesecake is spiked with rose water to give it that extra Middle Eastern flavor.

Keeping it All Dairy Free

Since both my father-in-law and myself have trouble digesting dairy, I try to keep the desserts I bring to their home dairy-free. For instance, the vegan knafeh I made during Ramadan last month was made with dairy free cream cheese! And since that dessert was a hit, I figured making this baklava cheesecake with the same dairy free cream cheese was likely to be a home run. But there are a lot of different types of dairy free cream cheese. My go-to for baking it into cheesecake is a brand I found in the grocery store that's made from tofu. It's really thick and has a mild flavor, perfect for holding its shape as it bakes. You could also make dairy free cream cheese from cashews, coconut oil and potato starch, or even butter beans.

If you want to keep everything strictly dairy free, use dairy-free Greek yogurt in the cheesecake filling. And use dairy-free butter when making the baklava layers.

Baking a Cheesecake

There are two schools of thought on how best to bake a cheesecake. To use a water bath, or not to use a water bath? I've tried both methods with relatively equal success. The purpose of a water bath is to ensure the cheesecake bakes evenly throughout. By wrapping the cheesecake pan in aluminum foil and then placing it in a high-walled baking dish filled with hot water, you can ensure your cheesecake won't crack on top or over-bake. The water bath prevents the cheesecake within it from ever getting hotter than 212°F, regardless of your oven temperature.

I had all intentions to bake this cheesecake in a water bath. But as I was about to wrap the cheesecake tin in aluminum foil and pop it in the preheated oven, I realized I was completely out of foil. There were just two measly inches left on the cardboard roll. So to the internet I fled in a frantic panic! I didn't have time to run to the store to grab more. Thankfully, I found a method of baking cheesecake without a water bath that worked seamlessly. All the details are in the recipe below.

Enjoy!!