Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake
Doughy cinnamon rolls meet creamy cheesecake – and it’s a match made in heaven.
It always makes me happy when we can take two beloved foods and combine them in a way that is sometimes even more delicious but always a fun new way to experience some of your favorite foods. Well, we’ve done it again with this Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake! When you hear those three words you might think of doughy cinnamon rolls combined with velvety cheesecake and a swirl of irresistible cinnamon-sugar and good news – that’s exactly what you get with this delicious dessert. (I feel like I should definitely mention right off the bat that this comes with a cinnamon roll crust and it’s every bit as good as that sounds.)
That cinnamon roll crust also means that this cheesecake is pretty easy to make because you’re starting with a regrigerated tube of cinnamon rolls. You’ll need five rolls, which is usually one regular tube, and you want to take them and smush them down into the bottom of a sprinform pan. Voila, crust! Since they puff up in the oven, you’ll want to press them pretty flat. It’s not their fault – that’s what cinnamon rolls are supposed to do, but in this case we don’t want them to invade into the filling’s territory too much.
The filling is basic cheesecake at its best – cream cheese, sugar, eggs, the usual. It tangles with a simple cinnamon-sugar (and melted butter) swirl to give it more cinnamon roll flavor and bakes up into something that’s creamy but full of flavor. And of course there’s a drizzle of cream cheese frosting to top it all off! That’s (possibly) the best part of a cinnamon roll so we certainly couldn’t leave it out of the cheesecake version.
Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake
Yield(s): Serves 9
15m prep time
45m cook time
4h inactive
Allergens: Gluten
Ingredients
- 5 refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing (1 17.5 oz container)
For the cheesecake filling:
- 16 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 eggs
For the cinnamon filling:
- 1/3 cup butter, melted
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons cinnamon
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 3 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 325°F and grease a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- First make the cheesecake filling:
- In a medium mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and granulated sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Add vanilla and flour and mix to combine.
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing completely between additions. Set aside.
- Next, make the cinnamon filling:
- In a small bowl, stir together the melted butter, cinnamon and brown sugar until well mixed. Set aside.
- Lay cinnamon rolls in bottom of prepared pan and press flat into a single layer until they cover the bottom of the pan.
- Pour in cheesecake filling, then drop spoonfuls of cinnamon filling over the top. Use a knife to gently swirl the two together.
- Bake until center of cake is set, 45-55 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely before transferring to fridge to chill at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
- When ready to serve, remove cake and let come to room temperature and make the cream cheese frosting:
- In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy. Drizzle or pipe frosting over the top of the cheesecake. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything.