3/4 c Ground hazelnuts, pecans or 16 oz Cream cheese
-walnuts (3 oz.)* 1 c Mascarpone or ricotta (8 oz)
8 Sheets frozen phyllo dough 2/3 c Honey
— about 17×12″ rectangle 2 tb All-purpose flour
— thawed 3 Eggs
1/4 c Margarine or butter; melted 1/4 c Milk
2 tb Sugar
*To grind nuts, blend or process nuts, 1/2 cup at a time, in blender
or food processor. Cover and blend until very finely chopped, but be
careful not to overprocess or the nuts will form a paste.
For crust, generously grease the bottom and sides of a 9″ springform
pan. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the ground nuts evenly over the bottom of
the pan. Set aside.
Unfold phyllo. Cover phyllo with a slightly damp cloth, removing
sheets as needed. Brush one phyllo sheet with melted margarine or
butter. Top with another sheet of phyllo, overlapping to create a
17×14″ rectangle; brush with margarine. Repeat with remaining phyllo
and margarine to make eight layers in a 17×14″ rectangle.
Using kitchen shears, trim phyllo to a 14″ circle, reserving
trimmings. Ease the phyllo into the prepared pan, creasing as
necessary and being careful not to tear the dough. Trim even with
the top of the pan, reserving trimmings.
Combine remaining nuts and sugar; reserve 1 tb. for topping. Sprinkle
remaining nut mixture over phyllo in pan. Cut reserved phyllo
trimmings into 1/2″ to 1″ pieces; place on a greased baking sheet.
Bake crust and trimmings in a 425 F. oven until golden, allowing 4 to
6 minutes for trimmings and 6 to 8 minutes for crust. Cool slightly
on a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 350 F.
For filling, in a large mixing bowl combine cream cheese, mascarpone
or ricotta, honey and flour; beat on low speed of electric mixer
until smooth. Add eggs all at once, beat on low speed just until
mixed. Do not overbeat. Stir in milk just until combined.
Pour filling into phyllo crust. Bake uncovered at 350 F. for 50 to 55
minutes or until the center appears nearly set when shaken. If
necessary to prevent overbrowning, carefully cover the crust with
foil the last 20 minutes.
Cool cheesecake in pan on a wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes. Loosen
sides of pan. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours. Store trimmings
in a tightly covered container in a cool, dry place. Before serving,
remove sides of pan. Top cheesecake with phyllo trimmings and
reserved sugar-nut mixture.
Yield: 12 to 16 servings.
Nutritional info per serving: 314 calories, 23 g fat, 72 mg
cholesterol, 6 g protein, 23 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, 171 mg
sodium. Daily Values: 24 percent vitamin A, 11 percent riboflavin.
From Nancy Byal’s 10/13/94 AP article “Phyllo Makes Fantastic Honey
Cheesecake” in “The (Elizabethtown, KY) News-Enterprise.” Pg. 3D.
Yields
1 cheesecake