Recipe#8338

Title: Baklava

Newsgroups: rec.food.recipes 
 From: ak399@cleveland.freenet.edu (Carole A. Resnick) 
 Subject: Baklava cheesecake 
 Message-ID: <2a5a0j$qo0@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu> 
 Date: 21 Oct 1993 06:25:23 GMT 

32 ozs cream cheese, room temperature
 1 cup clover honey
 1/4 cup lemon juice (fresh)
 2 tsps vanilla
 6 jumbo eggs, room temperature
 1/2 cup walnuts
 1/2 cup almonds, blanched
 1 TBS granulated sugar
 1 tsp cinnamon
 1/2 TBS butter (unsalted), clarified
 1 TBS lemon juice (fresh)
 1 1-1/2 inch cinnamon stick
 1 TBS cognac
 Beat cream cheese in large bowl of electric mixer until light &
 fluffy. Gradually mix in honey, then lemon juice & vanilla.  Beat
 in eggs 1 at a time until just incorporated.  Set aside. Stir
 through filling & pour into crust.
 Cover filling with overhanging phyllo, squaring at edge of pan.
 Bake until pastry is light brown and cake is firm to touch, about
 50 mins.
 Remove pan sides; using toothpick, poke 12 holes in top of cake to
 allow steam to escape.  Cool completely on rack.  Refrigerate 2
 days to mellow flavors, covering after first day.
 Preheat oven to 350.
 Cover baking sheet with 2 pieces of parchment.
 Coarsely grind all nuts with 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 tsp.  cinnamon
 in processor.  Stack 10 reserved phyllo pastry sheets on work
 surface.  Set rim of 10-inch springform pan atop pastry.  Cut around
 inside of rim through entire stack using sharp knife, making 10
 rounds.  Cover rounds with damp towel.  Set pan rim on prepared
 baking sheet.
 Brush parchment and inside of pan rim with butter.  Place one pastry
 round in pan rim and brush with butter.  Repeat with four more
 rounds.  Spread nut mixture evenly over pastry.  Top with remaining
 5 pastry rounds, brushing each with butter.  Using ruler as guide,
 cut pastry into 16 wedges (or however many pieces you want) with
 sharp knife.  Sprinkle lightly with water.  Bake until crisp and
 golden, about 30 minutes.
 Meanwhile, heat 1/2 cup sugar, water, and lemon juice in heavy
 small saucepan over low heat, swirling pan occasionally until sugar
 dissolves. Add cinnamon stick, increase heat to medium and boil
 until syrupy, about 4 minutes.  Remove from heat.  When bubbles
 subside, add Cognac.
 Flatten pastry atop cake.  Remove pan rim from topping.  Set topping
 on cake, using large spatula.  Re-cut wedges.  Replace pan rim on
 assembled cake. Immediately pour on hot syrup.  Cool one hour.
 Refrigerate one to 6 hours, preferably six hours.  Let cake stand
 at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.