Will I ever want regular cheesecake after making this baklava version?  Why don’t all cheesecakes have a phyllo crust? Why don’t they have sweet and spiced ground walnuts at the bottom of all of them?  It’s unclear.  But I loved this cheesecake.  It’s not any harder to make than a regular cheesecake but a little more show stopper-y with the baklava upgrade.

I know it’s so hard but try not to overcook the cheesecake.  I panicked and felt like it needed a little more time which it didn’t.  It still tasted delicious but I had some cracks happening on the top.  The phyllo dough is a little messy in general, especially when you slice but overall it holds together well and is a super yummy change of pace from a graham cracker crust.  It’s perfect with the honey cheesecake filling and spiced walnuts at the bottom.  A great holiday option since it’s completely make ahead and with the sugared cranberries who wouldn’t want this on their Christmas table.

You’ll need:

For Cheesecake

• 15 sheets phyllo dough
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 0.25 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 0.25 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 0.25 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 packages (8 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 carton (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup honey
• 0.25 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten

For Garnish

• 3tablespoons light corn syrup
• 0.25 cup sugar
• 0.5 cup fresh cranberries

To Make:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Grease a 9” spring form pan (I used baking spray).
2. In a small bowl, mix together walnuts, sugar and spices.  Set aside.
3. Place one sheet of phyllo dough in pan, pressing phyllo onto bottom and up sides of pan.  Brush with butter.  Layer with remaining phyllo sheets, brushing each layer and rotating sheets slightly to stagger the corners.  (While working, keep unused phyllo covered with plastic wrap and a damp towel to prevent it from drying out).  Trim phyllo at top of pan so the phyllo is about as high as the spring form pan.  Place pan on baking sheet.
4. Sprinkle walnut mixture on bottom of phyllo.  Bake 5-7 minutes until edges are lightly browned.  Cool on wire rack. Reduce oven to 325 degrees F.
5. In large bowl, beat cream cheese and mascarpone until smooth.  Use egg beaters to do this… mine were broken so I had to do by hand which was a huge pain.  Beat in honey, milk and flour.  Beat in eggs until just blended.
6. Return pan to baking sheet.  Pour filling into crust.  Bake for one hour until center is almost set (I of course panicked and overcooked it a little because it didn’t seem done so I had some cracks… don’t be like me).
7. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack at least one hour.  Refgierate overnight, covering when completely cooled.  Remove rim from pan by lifting cake up and out of sides of pan to protect the crust.
8. For garnish, place sugar in small shallow bowl.  Heat corn syrup in small microwave bowl for 10 seconds in microwave.  Add cranberries to syrup and toss.  Dump cranberries in sugar and toss to combine until coated.  Place on waxed paper and let set for one hour.  Top cheesecake with sugared cranberries and serve.

 Inspired by TasteofHome