This recipe was inspired by Ottolenghi’s famous Caramel & Macademia Cheesecake! I created it for a competition I entered with Merci Chef in Lebanon, still waiting for the final results. This cheesecake is a winner and will become a classic in my kitchen. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed creating it.
Preparation time: 2 hours, plus resting time
Cooking time: 2.5 hours
Serves: 10 – 12
Ingredients
For the base
,- 170 grams ossmalieh dough strands
- 100 grams unsalted butter, melted
- For the Syrup
- 300 grams caster sugar
- 1 tsp rosewater
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp ground cardamon
For the cheesecake
,- 1.2 kg cream cheese
- 240 grams caster sugar
- 80 grams sour cream
- 6 eggs
- 2 tsp rosewater
- For the caramel topping
- 165 grams caster sugar
- 65 grams unsalted butter
- 100 ml heavy cream or whipping cream
For the ossmalieh topping
,- 170 grams ossmalieh dough strands
- 100 grams unsalted butter, melted
- For the caramelized pistachio
- 100 grams caster sugar
- 80 grams skinned pistachio
Method
,- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Grease and line a 25 cm cheesecake tin. Set the cheesecake pan on a large piece of aluminum foil and fold up the sides around it, I do this is to avoid any leakage into the oven during the baking process.
- In a saucepot on medium heat, stir the sugar, cinnamon, cardamon, rosewater with 300 ml of water. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to low and leave to simmer until the syrup slightly thickens, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool at room temperature.
- In a medium bowl, place the ossamlieh strains and pour in the butter. Using your hands toss the ossamlieh strands in the butter. Make sure to coat all the strands with butter.
- Place the coated ossamlieh strands in the prepared cheesecake tin. Press downwards using a spatula or the back of a tablespoon spoon.
- Bake for 20 – 30 minutes or until the ossamlieh has changed in color to golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and pour half the prepared syrup on the base of the cheesecake. Set aside to cool in the fridge.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and rosewater.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
- Stir in the sour cream. The batter should appear silky and smooth with no lumps.
- Pour the cheesecake batter over the prepared base.
- Bake in the oven at 200°C for 10 minutes. Then reduce the heat of the oven to 150°C and bake for 55 minutes. The cheesecake will still jiggle from the center. Turn the oven off and slightly open its door and leave the cheesecake inside to cool for 30 minutes, and then remove the cheesecake and leave it to cool at room temperature for another 30 minutes and then chill for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight.
- For the caramel topping, in a saucepan over medium heat, place the sugar and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until it becomes a smooth, dark caramel. 10. Add in the butter and continue to stir. The butter and sugar will look as if they have just split, but keep stirring until well incorporated. Once the desired color is reached, remove the saucepan from the heat and carefully add the cream while stirring vigorously. Set aside to cool.
- For the ossmalieh topping, preheat the oven to 180° Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Using a pair of scissors cut the ossmalieh strands and place on the baking tray. Pour the melted butter on top and using your hands toss the ossmalieh strands in the butter. Make sure to coat all the strands with butter. Bake in the oven for 20 – 30 minutes, until a deep golden brown, stirring the strands every 5 minutes to make sure all the strand pieces brown evenly. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
- For the caramelized pistachios, in a small saucepan over medium heat, add the sugar. Stir constantly until it reaches a dark brown color, but not burnt. Stir in the skinned pistachios and pour on a chopping board. Once the caramelized pistachios are cool enough to handle, using a chef knife chop into bite size pieces.
- To assemble the cheesecake, pour the caramel, spread the ossmalieh on top and top with the caramelized pistachio pieces. Serve immediately.
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