This is not a traditional cake at all. It was a bit of an Instagram viral hit about a year or two ago and since I have a bit of an obsession with all things pistachio it’s one of those things I always wanted to make myself. I just always assumed it would be too complicated so I didn’t bother. When we were planning our last volunteer
appreciation dinner in the summer I really felt like making something a bit more extraordinary and then I remembered the idea for this cake.
Basically, it brings together two very different cake/dessert traditions.
The base layer is a take on baklava, which is a traditional sweet from the Middle East, Turkey and Greece. The origins are fiercely debated and obviously the recipes vary greatly depending on culture, region and person preparing it. What they all have in common though is a beautiful combination of delicate, flakey filo pastry that’s layered with melted butter and sugar, a rich, indulgent nut filling and a sticky sweet syrup or honey to bring it all together. This forms the base for this indulgent dessert.
The filling is a creamy, decadent cheesecake, flavoured with orange and rosewater to balance the sweetness of the baklava layer. I used ricotta and mascarpone because it just takes a cheesecake to the next level. And I know a thing or two about cheesecakes. They used to call me the ‘cheesecake queen’ when I lived in Scotland, because I would show up to most parties with a cheesecake under my arm and got quite proficient at making them and coming up with new flavour ideas all the time.
When trying to find a recipe for the dinner, I wasn’t really convinced by any of the recipes that went viral on Instagram, so I just made up my own, drawing from years and years of baking experience.
Baking has always been a form of meditation for me, for as long as I can remember being in the kitchen on my own. Neither of my parents are huge cake bakers. My mum had one recipe that she would bake (rather badly, if I’m being completely honest) for my sister’s and my birthday. And my dad really loves baking bread. So I’m not entirely sure where my knack for cake baking comes from. But I’m now trying to share it with as many people as possible; either by bringing cakes to pretty much any gathering I’m invited to, or by spending an afternoon in the kitchen with my child, baking weird and wonderful muffins and biscuits.
Ingredients and Preparation
I wouldn’t say this is particularly difficult or complicated to make, but it does take time and a relatively long list of ingredients. It’s totally worth it though. And obviously it features pistachios!
Working with filo pastry is a bit fiddly and requires some patience. But fortunately you can get really good, ready-to-use filo in all the Arabic and Turkish supermarkets in my neighbourhood. Because I really cannot face the idea of making that myself. Actually, just out of curiosity, I would like to try that one day. But that would be a completely different story.
Baklava Orange Rose Cheesecake
The baklava layer
12 sheets filo pastry
170g butter, melted
A few tsp sugar
The pistachio layer
150g pistachios
5 tbsp powdered sugar
4 tbsp butter, melted
The cheesecake
3 eggs, separated
1 pinch salt
250g ricotta (drained)
250g mascarpone
100g sugar
10g cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla
1 orange, zest only
1 tbsp rosewater
The topping
100g warmed honey
Chopped pistachios
Rose petals
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Grease a round cake tin with butter, then start layering the filo dough. After each layer, brush with butter and sprinkle with sugar until all 12 layers are finished. Bake for about 10 minutes until it becomes golden. Check on it regularly to make sure it doesn’t burn. Take tin out of the oven and lower oven temperature to 150°C.
For the pistachio layer, grind the pistachios and powdered sugar together in a food processor. Add mixture to the melted butter and mix well. Dollop this paste onto the baked filo pastry shell and spread evenly, making sure not to break the pastry shell underneath.
In a clean bowl, beat egg whites with a pinch of salt to stiff peaks. Set aside.
In a large bowl mix ricotta, mascarpone, sugar and cornstarch. Make sure not to overmix. Add egg yolks one at a time and then the vanilla, orange zest and rosewater.
Carefully fold in egg whites and then pour into the prepared filo crust.
Bake for about 60-90 minutes until just set.
Decorate with warmed honey, pistachios and rose petals.
