Sopapilla Cheesecake

Written by Katerina

Published Mar 23, 2023

If you like cheesecake or cheese Danish, you’ll adore this cinnamon-spiced Sopapilla Cheesecake! It’s easy to make, with layers of fluffy crescent dough and a simple cream cheese filling.

Three squares of sopapilla cheesecake stacked on a plate. One has had a bite taken from it.

A Creamy, Crowd-Pleasing Cheesecake!

If you need a recipe for a get-together, this one’s for you. Sopapilla cheesecake is so simple to make; it’s fail-proof and makes a big, 9×13-inch pan of cream cheese and cinnamon goodness sandwiched between layers of light, buttery crescent dough. Cut into squares, it’s a beautiful treat that everyone will adore.

To make it, you just need to layer refrigerated crescent roll dough with a simple creamy filling. From there, brush on melted butter and sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar. How easy is that? A quick bake and a few hours of chilling time are all you need to finish this festive dessert.

Three stacked cheesecake bars with cinnamon topping and mint leaves.

Why Is It Called Sopapilla?

Sopapilla can also be spelled sopaipilla, and either way, it probably comes from the word sopaipa (or Xopaipa), meaning bread in oil. Sopaipas were traditionally made in a part of Spain that was once conquered by the Moors and still has elements of Moorish culture to this day.

Sopaipas were brought by the Spanish to the Americas centuries ago, and this versatile fried bread is served in all kinds of variations, but often as a sweet dessert. Here, we’re combining the idea of sopapilla with a cream cheese filling to make a sopapilla cheesecake!

From top: cinnamon, vanilla, egg, sugar, melted butter, cream cheese, crescent roll dough.

What Is Sopapilla Cheesecake Made With?

You only need a few ingredients to make this simple recipe, and you can find them in any grocery store. Here’s the list. (Remember, for the full recipe with amounts, just scroll to the bottom of this post.)

Cheesecake Ingredients

Crescent Roll Dough: Refrigerated crescent roll dough.
Cream Cheese: This recipe uses four blocks of cream cheese. Make sure to set it out and let it come to room temperature before you use it.
Sugar: Granulated sugar is fine.
Egg: It’s helpful to have the egg at room temperature, as well.
Vanilla: Pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste if you prefer.

Topping Ingredients

Butter: Unsalted butter, melted.
Sugar: Granulated sugar works here too, or raw sugar, etc.
Cinnamon

Close-up of cheesecake bars with a bite taken from the top bar.

How to Make Our Sopapilla Cheesecake

One of my very favorite things about this sweet, creative cheesecake recipe is that it’s so. darn. easy. You just layer and bake! Here are the steps with photos:

Prepare to Bake. Before you start baking, make sure to preheat your oven to 350°F, and lightly grease a 9×13 inch glass or ceramic pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Add the Bottom Crust. Next, open one of the crescent roll dough cans, and unroll the dough. Press this into the bottom of the greased baking dish.

A baking dish lined with crescent roll dough.

Make the Cream Cheese Filling. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract. Once those ingredients are smooth, add an egg, and whisk it in.
Spread the Filling Over the Bottom Crust. Pour the batter over the crescent roll dough in the baking dish, and spread it out evenly.

Cream cheese filling scooped into a baking dish.

A baking dish with dough on the bottom and cream cheese filling spread in an even layer.

Add the Top Crust. Unroll the second can of crescent roll dough, and carefully place it on top of the cream cheese layer.
Top the Cheesecake. Finally, spread the melted butter over the top crust. Stir together the sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle evenly over the butter.

Cinnamon-spiced Sopapilla Cheesecake with fluffy crescent dough and cream cheese filling is super easy to make, and perfect for any event!

A baking dish with cheesecake filling and crescent roll crusts, topped with butter and cinnamon sugar.

Bake the Sopapilla Cheesecake. Slide that cheesecake into the oven, and let it bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the cheesecake is set.
Cool the Cheesecake. Remove the sopapilla cheesecake from the oven, and let it cool to room temperature. Then move it to the refrigerator and let it chill for several hours before serving.

Squares of sopapilla cheesecake on dessert plates.

Baker’s Tips

I hope you’re excited to try this recipe – it’s so creamy, dreamy, and delicious. Sopapilla cheesecake would be perfect for a coffee get-together with friends or to top off a festive Cinco De Mayo meal. If you do make it, be sure to check out these helpful tips first:

Room Temp: Make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature before mixing it with the other ingredients. This will help create that luscious, creamy texture with no lumps.
Easy Does It: When you spread the cream cheese mixture over the dough, spread it evenly and gently. You want an even layer that will bake evenly, and you don’t want to tear the dough. Be careful placing the top layer of dough, too, so it doesn’t tear.
Pastry Brush: A pastry brush is the best tool for spreading the melted butter over the top layer of dough. If you don’t have one, you can use the rounded edge of a spoon, or the corner of a clean tea towel, to gently spread it without tearing the dough.
Cooling the Cheesecake: After baking, allow the cheesecake to cool to room temperature before you chill it in the fridge. This will help the cheesecake to set properly and achieve a firmer texture.
Add More Cinnamon Sugar: Before serving, you can sprinkle the top of the cheesecake with a bit of extra cinnamon sugar for added flavor and a more appetizing presentation.
Serving: Keep in mind that sopapilla cheesecake shouldn’t sit out for more than a couple of hours before you put it back in the fridge.

A square of cheesecake with cinnamon topping on a plate.

Tasty Variations

If you want to add even more flavor magic to your cheesecake, I’ve got you covered! These are just a few of the ways to enjoy sopapilla cheesecake:

A Sweet Drizzle: Chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, strawberry sauce… almost any sweet sauce would be perfect drizzled over a square of this creamy dessert.
Fruit Pie Filling: You’ll love this cheesecake even more if you add a bit of fruit! I like to use pie filling, such as peach pie filling, blueberry pie filling, or Apple Pie Filling.
Add Almonds: Cream cheese and cinnamon are really good combined with almonds – try adding just a little almond extract to the filling, and scatter slivered almonds over the top for good measure! Yum.

Two squares of cheesecake stacked on top of each other.

Storing and Freezing

You can store this cheesecake in the freezer or the fridge. For the fridge, just wrap the dish tightly with plastic wrap or foil, and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
For freezing, I recommend wrapping each square separately in a layer of plastic wrap. Then put all of the squares in an airtight container or a zip-top freezer bag, and freeze for up to 3 months.
Thaw in your refrigerator before serving.

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5 from 5 votes