Hazelnut Cheesecake Baklava

I made this hazelnut cheesecake baklava for my Greek Feaster dinner party I hosted with The Wind Attack (caught in the act of microblogging).


I love baklava, but sometime the thick layer of nuts become excessive, plus I wanted something "lighter" for the supposed (cough) Spring we were having in Portland. I used hazelnuts because, first of all, I love them, and secondly they are Oregon's #1 nut. Thirdly, I'd never had baklava with hazelnuts. Going along with the Oregon theme, I used a local wildflower honey to make the syrup. The floral, delicate honey played in nicely. 

Hazelnut Cheesecake Baklava
Adapted from the Kathimerini
Makes 2 large trays


For the cheesecake
2 8 oz. packages cream cheese
2/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla
4 eggs


For the baklava
1 package frozen phyllo pastry (defrosted)
2 cups roasted hazelnuts, chopped
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup butted, melted
1/4 cup hazelnut oil


For the syrup
1 cup honey
1 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar


For the cheesecake layer
In a medium size bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth, adding eggs in one by one followed by the vanilla.


For the baklava

• Turn oven on to 350 degrees.
• Grease two baking trays (about the same size or smaller than one sheet of phyllo).
• Combine melted butter with hazelnut oil.
• Use half the phyllo, divided evenly on to the two trays, to make stacks with melted butter in between each layer.
• In a separate bowl, mix nuts, sugar and cinnamon together.
• Sprinkle half (divided evenly) nut mixture over phyllo layers, then pour cheesecake filling. Sprinkle with remaining Nuts
• Finish with phyllo-butter layers until finished with dough.
• Score the top with a sharp knife to form diamond shapes.
• Bake for about an 50 minutes or until golden brown on top. You do not want to under cook baklava because it will become soggy quickly with the syrup.

For the syrup
Boil water, honey and sugar together  for several minutes, then let simmer for 10 minutes. 


There are two ways to approach the syrup pouring:
1. Hot syrup on cooled baklava
2. Cold Syrup on hot baklava


Pick one and enjoy!

I made this hazelnut cheesecake baklava for my Greek Feaster dinner party I hosted with The Wind Attack (caught in the act of microblogging).


I love baklava, but sometime the thick layer of nuts become excessive, plus I wanted something "lighter" for the supposed (cough) Spring we were having in Portland. I used hazelnuts because, first of all, I love them, and secondly they are Oregon's #1 nut. Thirdly, I'd never had baklava with hazelnuts. Going along with the Oregon theme, I used a local wildflower honey to make the syrup. The floral, delicate honey played in nicely. 

Hazelnut Cheesecake Baklava
Adapted from the Kathimerini
Makes 2 large trays


For the cheesecake
2 8 oz. packages cream cheese
2/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla
4 eggs


For the baklava
1 package frozen phyllo pastry (defrosted)
2 cups roasted hazelnuts, chopped
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup butted, melted
1/4 cup hazelnut oil


For the syrup
1 cup honey
1 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar


For the cheesecake layer
In a medium size bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth, adding eggs in one by one followed by the vanilla.


For the baklava

• Turn oven on to 350 degrees.
• Grease two baking trays (about the same size or smaller than one sheet of phyllo).
• Combine melted butter with hazelnut oil.
• Use half the phyllo, divided evenly on to the two trays, to make stacks with melted butter in between each layer.
• In a separate bowl, mix nuts, sugar and cinnamon together.
• Sprinkle half (divided evenly) nut mixture over phyllo layers, then pour cheesecake filling. Sprinkle with remaining Nuts
• Finish with phyllo-butter layers until finished with dough.
• Score the top with a sharp knife to form diamond shapes.
• Bake for about an 50 minutes or until golden brown on top. You do not want to under cook baklava because it will become soggy quickly with the syrup.

For the syrup
Boil water, honey and sugar together  for several minutes, then let simmer for 10 minutes. 


There are two ways to approach the syrup pouring:
1. Hot syrup on cooled baklava
2. Cold Syrup on hot baklava


Pick one and enjoy!