Sopapilla Cheesecake
Sopapilla Cheesecake takes everything we love about the classic New Mexican dessert and marries it with creamy cheesecake and a flaky crust for a quickly disappearing and crowd-friendly dessert. Serve warm for the best flavor, and top with honey, berries, or whipped cream if desired!
Servings 12 servings
Calories 361kcal
Equipment
- 9x13 baking dish
- Mixing Bowls
- Electric hand or stand mixer
Ingredients
- 2 (8-ounce/226g) cans refrigerated crescent rolls
- 2 (8-ounce/226g) blocks cream cheese softened
- 1¼ cups granulated sugar divided (250g)
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted (85g)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Unroll one package of crescent rolls into the bottom of the baking dish, stretching and pressing to the edges of the pan. Pinch the perforated seams together so the filling doesn’t leak through the bottom of the crust, if needed.
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, ¾ cup of sugar, egg, and vanilla together on medium speed until creamy and combined, about 2 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the top of the dough.
- Unroll the other package of crescent rolls onto a lightly floured surface. Pinch the seams together. Lightly flour the top and use a rolling pin to roll it into a 9x13-inch rectangle. Carefully roll the dough up onto the rolling pin, then unroll it over the cream cheese layer. (Pinch any seams together that may have come apart.) Brush the top dough sheet with melted butter.
- In a small bowl, stir together the remaining ½ cup of sugar and the cinnamon. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over the buttered dough.
- Bake for 30 minutes, until the crust is puffed and golden brown and the cheesecake filling jiggles just slightly when gently shaken. Let cool for 30 minutes before serving warm with a drizzle of honey, if desired. Leftovers should be cooled completely, covered with plastic wrap, and refrigerated for up to 5 days.
Video
Notes
- Use a metal baking pan. Though a glass pan works in a pinch, metal will more efficiently conduct the heat, baking these bars evenly and crisping up the crescent rolls nicely.
- Pinch the seams of the crescent rolls or use crescent sheets. To keep the cheesecake filling from seeping through the crust, you will need to pinch the seams of the crescent rolls when stretching it into the pan and rolling it into the top sheet. If available, use sheets of crescent roll dough, which are solid and not precut, saving on any time and hassle.
- Adjust the cinnamon sugar ratio to your liking. For enhanced cinnamon flavor, increase the ground cinnamon to 1½ or even 2 teaspoons; for a more mild flavor, reduce to ¾ teaspoons.
- Use the cheesecake “jiggle” test. To be sure that the sopapilla cheesecake is baked through, give the pan a gentle shake. When the cheesecake is underbaked and not set yet, the whole cheesecake will wobble. You will know that is set when the center jiggles just slightly.
Nutrition
Calories: 361kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 76mg | Sodium: 296mg | Potassium: 69mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 801IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 0.4mg