Baklava Cheesecake
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My baklava cheesecake recipe features a tangy cheesecake filling atop a phyllo crust with a delicate honey, rose, and pistachio topping. It’s a delicious treat that is deceptively easy to make.
What do you get when you pair the flavors of the Middle Eastern dessert, classic baklava, and the rich, decadent texture of cheesecake? You get my baklava cheesecake.
The base is a classic cheesecake, but what makes it special is the airy phyllo crust and topping of honey and rosewater-infused pistachios. The best part? It’s SO easy to make. It has the perfect texture- The cheesecake is soft and creamy, the nut topping adds the perfect crunch, and the thin phyllo crust is ultra-flaky. It’s THE dessert I make when I’m entertaining because it is always a showstopper.
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Pure decadence. This dessert is guaranteed to be a head turner–I’ve got the evidence!
- It’s easier than you think. Despite how complex it sounds, it’s no different than any other cheesecake recipe.
- No fancy kitchen gadgets needed. So long as you have a mixer and a springform pan, you’re in luck.
Need more creative cheesecake recipes? You’ll love my brownie cheesecake, Biscoff cheesecake, and no-bake Oreo cheesecake.
★★★★★ REVIEW
“I made this cheesecake for my mother-in-law’s birthday and everyone RAVED about it. It really is the best of both worlds. I was worried I would mess it up but you made it so easy to follow.” – Holly
Key Ingredients
- Cream cheese. Use full-fat cream cheese that’s been softened to room temperature.
- Honey. Honey is essential in baklava recipes for its sweetness and floral flavor.
- Eggs. Gives the filling a silky smooth consistency while binding the ingredients.
- Vanilla extract. For flavor.
- Lemon juice. For brightness and balance.
- Crust. We use phyllo pastry dough instead of a traditional pie crust. It’s paired with butter and crushed nuts for the ultimate baklava experience.
- Topping. Honey, rose water, nuts, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
How to make baklava cheesecake
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Step 1- Quickly brush phyllo with melted butter, fold in half, and layer in the pan. Repeat until covered.
Step 2- Mix crushed nuts with butter until coarse. Sprinkle over phyllo and press firmly.
Step 3- Beat cream cheese with honey until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, then vanilla and lemon juice. Pour over the crust.
Step 4- Bake for 45 minutes at 325°F. Chill in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight.
Step 5- Combine honey, water, rose water, and half the lemon zest in a small saucepan. Boil, then simmer. Stir in remaining zest, juice, and nuts once cool.
Step 6- Pour the topping over the cake and chill before slicing.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Keep the filo sheets from drying out. Lay a damp kitchen towel on top of the sheets of filo when layering them into the springform pan.
- Guarantee a smooth, creamy filling. Sometimes I like to run the filling through a sieve as I find this helps remove any clumps.
- Know when the cheesecake is done. The phyllo should be golden brown and crisp, the edges of the filling are set, and the middle is slightly jiggly.
- Use a VERY sharp knife to slice. So you don’t rip through the phyllo.
Storage instructions
To store: Store leftover cheesecake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
To freeze: Wrap leftover slices in aluminum foil, store them in freezer-safe containers, and freeze for up to three months.
If you tried this Baklava Cheesecake recipe or any other recipe on The Big Man’s World, please rate the recipe and let me know how it went in the comments below. It really helps others thinking of making the recipe.
Baklava Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 10 sheets phyllo dough
- 12 tablespoons butter divided
- 2 cups walnuts ground
- 1 1/2 cups pistachios ground
- 1/2 cup roasted almonds ground
Cheesecake
- 3 cups cream cheese
- 1/2 cup honey
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Topping
- 1 cup honey
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 teaspoon rose water
- 1/2 cup walnuts roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup pistachios roughly chopped
- 2 large lemons juiced and zested
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 162C/325F.
- Line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper and spray the sides with some cooking spray.
- Working quickly, brush the phyllo pastry with 10 tablespoons of melted butter and then fold it in half (one tablespoon per sheet). Place the pastry into the springform. Repeat until the spring form pan is completely covered.
- Combine walnuts, pistachios, and almonds in a large bowl. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and stir until you have a coarse mixture. Place the nut mixture over the phyllo pastry and press firmly.
- Make the cheesecake filling; beat cream cheese with honey until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract and lemon juice. Pour the filling over the crust.
- Bake the cake for 45 minutes. Chill the cake for 4 hours in the fridge or overnight.
- Make the topping; combine honey, water, and rose water. Add half the lemon zest. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the remaining lemon zest and juice. Cool the syrup for 40 minutes and stir in walnuts and pistachios.
- Pour the topping over the cake and chill the cake for 2 hours or until its set, before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Want to skip the filo pastry? Just use a regular graham cracker crust!
- Top the entire cheesecake with phyllo. Rather than fold the sheets in half, leave enough sticking out over the edge so you can fully wrap the top of the cheesecake in phyllo.
- Add cinnamon. Many recipes call for cinnamon in the honey rose syrup. I tested it and didn’t think it was necessary, but you can add 1-2 teaspoons.
Nutrition
Frequently asked questions
I tested this cheesecake using store-bought gluten-free phyllo, and it wouldn’t set, and wasn’t light and flaky either. If you want to make this celiac-friendly, I suggest using your favorite gluten-free pie crust.
Please make a sugar-free, low carb version of this. As a diabetic, I need sugar-free and low carb recipes. This would be amazing.
Will do my best Linda! In the meantime, there are some other low carb, sugar free cheesecakes in my dessert section if you’d like to try those.
I make a lot of cheesecakes. My kids said this was the best ever.
Aw, Sharon- Thank you so much for sharing your lovely feedback- I appreciate it. Glad the kids enjoyed it too!
My husband has a notorious sweet tooth and said this was the best dessert he has ever eaten!
Michelle- I’m SO glad your husband enjoyed this- It is quite a special dessert and I’m so honored you tried it out. I appreciate it!
FANTASTIC! One of a Kind !
It’s so unique right!? So glad you enjoyed it Gloria. Let us know if you try any other recipes 🙂
How much butter do you put in with the nuts? Excited to make this!
Hi Kathleen- apologies for the oversight. 2 tablespoons with the nuts, I’ve made it clearer in the recipe card 🙂
Amazing recipe! One of the best things I have ever made. I didn’t use honey in cheesecake. Used normal sugar instead.
Love to hear that, Farah!
Delicious cheesecake! The biggest comment is about the topping: (1) it made FAR too much liquid, so we ended up not using all of it (although we did use all of the nuts), and (2) the lemon flavor overpowered the rest of the cheesecake, and made this not taste like baklava. Although the cake was truly delicious, the lemon took it out of the baklava realm for most of the bites until the last of the crust.
A few minor notes: (3) we added cinnamon and nutmeg to the nut mixture and agree with the author that we didn’t notice it, (4) we needed more than 10 tablespoons of butter, and (5) we added some sugar and honey to the nut mixture and it was good.
Making this on the weekend 🙂
Could I make this without baking the cheesecake? I really want to do a baklava crust with no bake cheesecake (as I promised a pistachio non baked cheesecake for a party)
My plan was to follow this recipe and the adjust:
-Put the nut mixture within the sheets as I layer them so they bake nicely with the crust
-Follow recipe as normal until the cheesecake filling: then make that with cream cheese with icing sugar and whipped cream (so it can set in fridge) + a lil honey as per your suggestions, and add in small amount of rose water to the cheesecake mixture (is this bold?) and some pistachio butter too for flavour (but not too much).
Any advice on the above is much appreciated!!
Hi there, this sounds very doable. You’ll just want to make sure that the phyllo crust and nut layer is baked completely and then cooled before you add your no-bake filling for chilling. Rose water infused filling sounds great to me! Just be careful not to use too much, you don’t want it to impact the thickness of the filling. Let us know how you go!
I would love too make this, it looks delicious! Do you measure the nuts before or after the see ground of crushed?
Hey Pamela! You can chop the nuts after you’ve measured them out 🙂 Hope this helps, you’ll have to let us know how you go.