Honey-nut cheesecake

1 cheesecake

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
¾ cup Ground hazelnuts, pecans or walnuts (3 oz.)*
8 Sheets frozen phyllo dough about 17x12\" rectangle thawed
¼ cup Margarine or butter; melted
2 tablespoons Sugar
16 ounces Cream cheese
1 cup Mascarpone or ricotta (8 oz)
⅔ cup Honey
2 tablespoons All-purpose flour
3 Eggs
¼ cup Milk

Directions

*To grind nuts, blend or process nuts, ½ 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 ¼ 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 17x14" rectangle; brush with margarine. Repeat with remaining phyllo and margarine to make eight layers in a 17x14" 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 ½" 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.

Posted by Cathy Harned.

Submitted By CATHY HARNED On 10-17-94

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