The Sweet Road

Two of the best desserts ever… put together. YES please.

Ingredients for baklava crust and baklava flowers:

• 1/2 package of phyllo dough
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar (optional)
• 1 cup pistachios
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cardamom
• 3 tablespoons melted butter

Steps for baklava and baklava flowers:

1. Thaw out phyllo dough and put a moist paper towel on top so it does not dry out while you are working with it.
2. Mix all the nuts, cinnamon, cardamom, and brown sugar in a blender until the nuts are sand like consistency.
3. In a large pan, put 2 sheets of phyllo dough down, a layer of nuts, two sheets of phyllo dough, and press down on the phyllo dough.
4. Pour the melted butter on top of the baklava and bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees until light brown color is achieved.
5. Let this cool so that the cheesecake batter does not start to cook upon adding it.
6. Baklava flowers – this step will give you the beautiful baklava flowers on top. Take two pieces of phyllo dough, fill a line of nut mixture, then roll the baklava into rose shapes. Sprinkle the top with more nuts. Bake these until lightly brown. They will be added as a beautiful garnish and topping at the very end.

Ingredients for sugar syrup:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar (or more for a thicker syrup)
• 1 splash of lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon orange blossom water

Sugar syrup (2atr in Arabic) instructions:

1. Boil the ingredients for the syrup above until boiling. Let it boil for about 5 minutes then remove from the stove. Make sure to mix while boiling so the sugar gets mixed into the water. Then, move the syrup to a heat safe container and cool the syrup down in the fridge. This will be used at the very end to add sweetness to the cheesecake

Cheesecake Filling ingredients:

• 4 blocks of 8 ounce cream cheese blocks
• 1 cup of sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon orange blossom water
• cinnamon & cardamom (1 teaspoon each)
• splash of lemon juice
• 4 ounces sour cream

1. Mix the cream cheese and sugar for 5 minutes until completely combined.
2. Slowly add in the eggs, orange blossom water, and vanilla until incorporated.
3. Fold in the sour cream and add cheesecake mixture to the top of the baklava.
4. Bake for 30-50 minutes at 350 degrees until the cheesecake top is smooth to the touch, and no batter comes off on your hand. The batter should still be jiggly when you shake the tin.
5. Add the baklava flowers on top for decor and sprinkle the top with nuts.
6. Add your sugar syrup (2atr in arabic) on top for that extra oomph.
7. Sahtein wa hana! Enjoy!