By Tommy Burkhammer Jr.
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with this deliciosa Sopaipilla Cheesecake. From Sept. 15th – Oct. 15th we in the U.S. celebrate the influence and contributions of Hispanic culture. This recipe is perfect for this month as sopaipilla is a New Mexican dish. Sopaipilla are incredibly versatile, often having both savory and sweet fillings; such as meat, chili and cheese, or even fresh fruit and cinnamon. This cheesecake is a delicious twist on these amazing pastries.
Sopaipilla Cheesecake Ingredients:
2 cans of crescent rolls (Or you can use the recipe below for homemade crescent dough. 1 batch will be enough for a 9 x 13 cheesecake)
3 8-ounce packages of cream cheese
2 cups of sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla
3 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 stick of unsalted butter
Sopaipilla Cheesecake Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 325°; Set cream cheese out. You can also use a warm (not hot) water bath for around 15 minutes to soften the cream cheese.
2. Mix the 3 packages of cream cheese, 1 ½ cups of sugar, 2 teaspoons of vanilla, and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon in a stand mixer and whisk attachment or handheld mixer until smooth. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl melt 1 stick of butter, then add ½ cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Set aside.
4. Grease a 9×13 pan with either a nonstick spray or butter, make sure to coat all of the bottom and sides. Spread 1 can of the crescent rolls (Or half of the homemade crescent roll dough) on the bottom of your pan. Then add your cream cheese mixture from before, spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Now spread the second can of crescent rolls (Or the other half of homemade crescent dough) on top of the cream cheese mixture.
5. Spread the butter, cinnamon, and sugar mixture from earlier onto the top layer of crescent dough, preferably using a basting brush, but a spoon and your hands will work as well.
6. Bake for 40-50 minutes. Or until golden brown crust forms on crescent dough. A good way to know if a cheesecake is done is to get a temperature probe and check for an internal cheesecake temperature of 150° or higher. Once this temp is reached your cheesecake will finish cooking once removed from the oven. Let cool before serving.
Cinnamon Glaze Ingredients:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon virgin olive oil (or other neutral oil)
1 teaspoon white (light) corn syrup
4 teaspoons of hot water
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Cinnamon Glaze Directions:
1. Whisk all ingredients together and taste, adjust cinnamon or vanilla to taste. Store in the fridge, will not crystallize but may become thicker. Leave on the counter for 15 minutes to return to glaze consistency.
Crescent Roll Dough Ingredients:
2 ¾ cups of all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons dry active yeast (if using instant yeast instead, rise time may need to be reduced by 10-15 minutes. Dough will have risen properly when doubled in size)
1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (cold)
½ cup milk
¼ cup water
1 egg
Crescent Roll Dough Directions:
1. Place flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in a stand mixer bowl or large mixing bowl, use either a whisk attachment or a whisk and mix thoroughly.
2. Cut your butter into small ½ inch or so thick slices then add too your mixed dry ingredients. Use a pastry blender or 2 small knives to cut until only pea-sized pieces remain.
3. Whisk the milk, water, and egg together in a small bowl and add the mixture to the flour & butter mixture.
4. Mix these together until the dough begins to gather itself into a ball.
5. Wrap the dough completely in plastic/saran/cling wrap. Let chill in the fridge for 30 minutes (15-20 minutes if using instant yeast.)
6. Flour your work surface, not heavily but enough for the dough not to stick. Roll the dough out into a long rectangle shape, around ½ inch thick.
7. Now we are going to do something called laminating our dough, this creates beautiful crispy layers. Fold your dough into thirds, like how you’d fold a letter. Turn 90 degrees and fold in thirds again. Repeat this process 3-5 times. More laminating means more layers! Let chill in the fridge again for 30 minutes (15- 20 minutes if using instant yeast.)
8. Now you are ready to use this dough starting at step 4 in the directions for our sopaipilla cheesecake.