Let's talk about two desserts i love, cheesecake and baklava. They're both sweet, rich and satisfying in the most comforting way. I love them both a lot, but not usually together. But a friend suggested i put them together in the form of a cheesecake baklava, or a baklava cheesecake if you prefer. At first i loved the idea. Then i began to think that i couldn't do it without creating something so rich that i wouldn't enjoy eating it. This took some time and thought. It's not an original idea in that i've seen bakeries with traditional looking cheesecakes and a layer of baklava on top. And, honestly, i kind of felt it was too much. It would be like just ordering both desserts but i wanted to really incorporate the two. Since the main ingredients of baklava are phyllo dough, nuts, and the syrup, i looked for ways to incorporate them individually. The phyllo dough makes a wonderful crust and i've used it that way before for other pastries, both sweet and savory. The nuts, pistachio are my favorite for baklava, can easily go on top of the cheesecake batter. As for the syrup, the phyllo is unsweetened and definitely needs it. But i kept the cheesecake batter a little less sweet and gave it plenty of acid from the lemon juice to allow for the extra sweetness in the honey syrup. Final verdict? Yes, yes and more yes Enjoy.
