tabla roll: knafeh cheesecake. your worlds are colliding right now, am i right? two of the greatest desserts: knafeh and New York cheesecake come together to make this beaut. it’s east meets west (and all other orientalized fantasies (what am i becoming?))–a layer of knafeh replaces the graham cracker crust for this New York cheesecake, is topped with more knafeh, tons of pistachios and candied rosewater and orange blossom simple syrup, attar in arabic. it’s the most perfect fusion of flavors.

this recipe uses chantal’s ny cheesecake recipe, which is the best of the best; clicking the link will take you to the original recipe, sans knafeh element. below is my take on the recipe, including tips and modifications.

1/3 lb (1/3 of the package) katayfi shredded phyllo dough, cut up
1 stick of butter
orange food coloring (knafeh food coloring if you can find)
4 (8oz) packages of…