The cheesecake layer needs about 3 hours to bake and cool, and at least 6 hours to freeze, so plan in advance; preferably make it a day ahead. The assembled kanafeh cheesecake, needs about 4 hours to defrost before serving, so plan to assemble it about 6 hours before you plan to serve it. If you prefer a thinner layer of cheesecake, for the kanafeh to take center stage, you could halve the cheesecake recipe. Baking time will need to be reduced to about 45 minutes. The syrup amount makes enough to soak the kanafeh, plus extra for drizzling on individual servings.