A quick and easy riff on cheesecake that uses baklava as the base. This really is a very simple and quick recipe that will still raise an eyebrow or two among even hardened dessert snobs.
I came up with this one putting together a menu for a three-course dinner with a distinctly Eastern Mediterranean vibe; Greek, Turkish, Lebanese, that kind of thing...
I rarely stray into pudding country, probably because I don't really have a sweet tooth—though I love a good dessert or cake when I experience it—so the challenge was to come up with something in keeping with the overall theme of the meal I was planning. Yes, it's pure hybrid and bastardisation, but so much the better for it.
The result is a cheat, a hack, that uses readily available fresh baklava—at least in many places—and a bog standard non-bake cheesecake recipe with a bit of upcycling.
I opted to use demerara sugar only and not the icing sugar more usual for the cheesecake mix. This results in a notable lightly crunchy texture—in this case it works well with the other ingredients—if you serve it within 4 or 5 hours of making it, but which disappears as the sugar dissolves if you make the cake the day before. If you prefer your cheesecake more "seamless" and without the risk of any hint of "crunch", opt for white icing sugar instead.
Because it was a bit of an experiment, I opted for individual ramekins instead of making it as a single larger "cake" because I wasn't certain it would set firmly: it does and you can reliably make it either in individual dishes or as a larger cake to be sliced accordingly.
This recipe generously serves 4 diners. Making it as a single cake could easily see it serve 6.
Shopping list
300g plain full-fat cream cheese
150ml double cream
Approx 75g roasted pistachios, without shells
The zest of 2 medium lemons
4 bite-size pieces of freshly baked baklava
4 tbspns of demerara sugar
A smidgen of oil (olive or vegetable); approx. 1 tspn
A tbspn of white wine (use lemon juice as an alternative)
Cooking Method
Grate the zest off the lemons and cover with a dab of white wine (or lemon juice) and allow to rest
Using a pestle and mortar, crush the pistachios so that they are unevenly broken; some nearly powder with larger chunks of nuts here and there. Heat a small non-stick pot or pan with only a smidgen of oil. Pour in approx ¾ of the pistachios and begin to toast. Add a generous tbspn of the demerara sugar and stir the dry mixture with a spatula or wooden spoon. You're basically caramelising the nuts with the sugar. As soon as it begins to smell of burning, remove from the heat, stir and allow to cool
In a suitable mixing bowl, add the cream cheese and double cream and whisk together using an electric mixer. Add the remaining demerara sugar and whisk until the mixture becomes thick e.g. sticking to a spoon and not falling off when you turn the spoon upside down
Gently stir ¾ of the pistachio "crunch" and ¾ of the grated lemon zest into the cheesecake mixture so that they are evenly spread
Cut the baklava in half—or, if you pull it gently apart with your hands, you should find the top half easily separates from the bottom layer. Press these into the base of your ramekins or non-stick cake dish in lieu of a traditional crust
Gently spoon the cheesecake mix over the baklava base; into your ramekins or cake dish. Place in the fridge and allow to set for at least two hours (you can do this up to 48 hours before if you're a "pre-prepared" type of person)
Remove from the fridge and allow to near room temperature—20 mins at least—before sprinkling the remaining pistachio "crunch" and lemon zest over the top before serving
Alternatives
This dish is already (lacto) vegetarian. But, I have never attempted it with the vegan alternatives to cream cheese and double cream. Knock yourselves out and let me know how it goes.
Pairings
This pudding works beautifully with a stiff little coffee tending towards the bitter; a nifty espresso or a Turkish coffee. That said, I can imagine from lessons learned from Karel that there are really good dessert wine options that could work with this one. We'll wait for his pronouncement.
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