This gorgeous Baked Pistachio Baklava Cheesecake deserves a spot on your dessert menu! It is made with phyllo pastry, pistachios, walnuts and a creamy filling. Serve this beautiful cheesecake on special occasions and decorate it with edible rose petals.
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Let's get into this delicate and charming cheesecake! It has a buttery, flaky crust, a crunchy, nutty base and a smooth, creamy cheesecake filling with a hint of orange flavor. The flavors in this cheesecake are phenomenal; to top things off, it looks beautiful and makes a wonderful centerpiece.
If you like this cheesecake, you will enjoy my Easy Moist Date Cake, Baked Mango Meringue Cheesecake and Easy Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars.
Why You Should Try This Recipe
- This Baked Pistachio Baklava Cheesecake is a stunning dessert centerpiece!
- It is a lot easier to make than it looks.
- The ingredients are budget-friendly.
- The ingredients are easily accessible.
- You can make it ahead of time!
Baked Pistachio Baklava Cheesecake Ingredients
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Crust
- Phyllo dough sheets: Use sheets that are (14x9-in.) to cover the whole springform pan. I bought ready-made phyllo sheets that can be refrigerated for this recipe, but if you are using frozen phyllo sheets, defrost them in the fridge before using them.
- Unsalted butter: Melt unsalted butter and use it to brush the phyllo sheets.
- Pistachio: Select roasted pistachios and remove them from their shells. Then chop or blitz them in a food processor into a crumb-like texture to make the crust.
- Walnuts: Chop or blitz them with the pistachios.
- Sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon: To sweeten the crust.
Cheesecake filling
- Cream cheese: Must be softened and at room temperature to make the filling. Use full-fat good-quality cream cheese.
- Eggs: Let eggs come to room temperature before mixing.
- Orange extract: This is an orange-flavored cheesecake but you can swap it with rose extract to make a rose-flavored cheesecake instead.
- Sugar: Use granulated sugar.
- Greek yogurt: Must be at room temperature to ensure it combines properly with the other wet ingredients.
- All-purpose flour: Sift flour to remove lumps.
Syrup
- Water:
- Honey: Any honey will do.
- Sugar: Use whatever sugar you have to hand.
- Orange zest: To add orange flavor to the syrup.
Tips and Substitutions
- Room temperature: The eggs, cream cheese and Greek yogurt must be at room temperature for this recipe. This will ensure that all of the wet ingredients combine properly mixing.
- Measuring scale: Use a scale to weigh the ingredients for accurate results. Using less or more of any ingredient will affect the cheesecake.
- Melted butter: Make sure you baste the phyllo sheets with melted butter as it will create golden crisp layers.
- Phyllo sheet: Be careful when handling the phyllo sheets as they are quite delicate and tear easily. If you are using frozen phyllo, then let it defrost before using it.
- Nuts: Option to roast them for a few minutes before making the crumb.
- Flavor: To change the flavor of this cheesecake, use rose water and rose extract instead of orange. This will give the cheesecake a rose-like flavor profile instead of orange.
- Nuts: If you prefer pistachios to walnuts, use 1 cup of pistachios to make the crust instead.
How to Make Baked Pistachio Baklava Cheesecake
- Firstly, preheat the oven to 380F/160C. Then line an 8” springform pan with parchment paper and grease it lightly with butter. Make sure you grease the sides, too.
- Press two phyllo sheets onto the lined pan and ensure they stick to the sides. Then, baste the sheet with melted butter. Ensure you get the sides and the part of the sheets that flop over the pan. Repeat this step with ten more sheets and rotate them around the tin as you go along. This will ensure that the crust is even.
- Next, combine ½ a cup of thinly chopped pistachio, ½ cup of thinly chopped walnuts, 1 tablespoon of sugar, ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon and 1 tablespoon of melted butter in the bowl.
- Mix all of the nuts and ingredients until combined.
- Once all of the phyllo sheets have been added to the tin, use scissors to cut the sheets that flop over the cake tin. This will help when removing the cheesecake from the springform pan.
- Pour the nut mixture onto the base of the phyllo sheet in the springform tin and press it down gently to even it out.
- Grab a large mixing bowl and add softened cream cheese and granulated sugar.
- Mix until combined.
Baklava Cheesecake Filling
- Then, add two room-temperature eggs and 1 teaspoon of orange extract and whisk until combined.
- Next, add Greek yogurt and whisk until combined.
- Finally, add all-purpose flour and whisk until combined.
- Pour the cheesecake filling into the pan on top of the nut mixture.
13. Smooth the baklava cheesecake filling.
14. Then, bake in a preheated oven for 65-75 minutes.
Make Syrup
15. As the cheesecake bakes, prepare the syrup. Add ⅔ cups of water, ¼ cups of honey ⅛ cups of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of orange zest to a pot and bring to a boil. Then, let it simmer for ten minutes.
Chill Cheesecake
16. Once the cheesecake is ready, turn off the oven, open the oven door slightly and let the cake cool for 10 minutes.
17. Then, using oven mitts, remove the cake from the oven and pour the syrup into the phyllo crust. It is okay if some of the syrup gets on the cheesecake. Let the cheesecake cool for 2 hours, then refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight to firm the filling.
18. Remove the cheesecake from the fridge and gently remove the springform pan. Decorate the cheesecake with chopped pistachio and rose petals and serve the baked pistachio baklava cheesecake for dessert!
Recipe FAQs
The crust is made from phyllo sheets, melted butter or olive oil, and chopped pistachios. The filling includes cream cheese, eggs, sugar, Greek yogurt, or sour cream. The cheesecake is then baked at 380F/160C for 65-75 minutes.
It is a thin sheet of dough made with wheat flour, water and oil or melted butter. It is typically used to make Turkish, Greek and Middle Eastern sweets and desserts.
Refrigerate in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Freeze the cheesecake in an airtight container or wrap it tightly in plastic wrap for up to two months. Defrost in the fridge overnight or until it softens.
More Luxurious Dessert Recipes
Baked Pistachio Baklava Cheesecake
Equipment
- Oven
- 1 Large mixing bowl
- 1 Cake tin
Ingredients
Crust
- 12 sheets phyllo dough (14x9-in.)
- 60 g butter melted
- ½ cup pistachio chopped
- ½ cup walnuts chopped
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon of melted butter
Cheesecake filling
- 600 g cream cheese softened
- 2 eggs room temp
- ¾ teaspoon orange extract
- 180g cup sugar granulated
- 100 g Greek yogurt room temp
- 50 g all purpose flour
Syrup
- ⅔ cup water
- ¼ cup honey
- ⅛ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
Instructions
Cheesecake Crust
- Preheat the oven to 380F/160C. Then line an 8” springform pan with parchment paper and grease it lightly with butter. Make sure you grease the sides too.
- Press two phyllo sheets onto the lined pan and stick them to the sides and base of the pan. Then, baste the sheet with melted butter. Ensure you get the sides and the part of the sheets that flop over the pan. Repeat this step with ten more sheets and make sure you rotate them around the tin as you go along. This will ensure that the crust is even.
- Once all of the phyllo sheets have been added to the tin, use scissors to cut the sheets that flop over the cake tin. This will help when removing the cheesecake from the springform pan.
- Next, combine thinly chopped pistachio, thinly chopped walnuts, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and 1 tablespoon of melted butter in the bowl and mix. Pour the nut mixture onto the base of the phyllo sheet in the springform tin and press it down gently to even it out. Alternatively, you can pulse everything in a food processor instead.
Baklava Cheesecake Filling
- Grab a large mixing bowl and mix softened cream cheese with granulated sugar until combined.
- Then, add eggs and orange extract and whisk until combined. Next, add Greek yogurt and whisk until combined. Finally, add all-purpose flour and whisk until combined.
- Pour the cheesecake filling into the pan on top of the nut mixture, then bake in preheated oven for 65-75 minutes.
Syrup
- As the cheesecake bakes prepare the syrup. Add water, honey and sugar and orange zest to a pot and bring to a boil. Then let it simmer for ten minutes.
Chill Cheesecake
- Once the cheesecake is ready, turn off the oven, crack open the oven door slightly and let the cake cool for 10 minutes.
- Then remove the cake from the oven using oven mitts and pour the syrup into the phyllo crust. It is okay if some of the syrup gets on the cheesecake. Let the cheesecake cool for 2 hours then refrigerate for 6 hours overnight to firm the filling.
- Remove the cheesecake from the fridge and gently remove the springform pan. Decorate the cheesecake with chopped pistachio and rose petals and serve for dessert.
Video
Luisa
Just make sure your rose petals have not ever been sprayed.
Jen Sim
Thanks Luisa. That is a great point!