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This Sopapilla Cheesecake recipe is made with a ridiculously easy 5 ingredient cheese cake, flaky crescent rolls, and a buttery cinnamon sugar topping. Decadence has never come together with so little effort!

Table of Contents

drizzling honey over two pieces of sopapilla cheese on a white plate

This cheesecake recipe is, dare I say, unlike anything you may have tried before! Sometimes when I introduce a recipe that is a bit out there I’ll give you an explanation for why everything works so well. This doesn’t require any selling! Just look at those photos.

The cheesecake, while so easy, is creamy, dreamy cheesecake sandwiched between crescent dough, then topped with cinnamon sugar and butter. I finished the cake with a drizzle of golden honey. I have no words! It was gone in the blink of an eye. We just couldn’t help ourselves!

What does sopapilla mean?

Sopapilla is a popular South American dessert. It’s a very simple dish of dough fried until it puffs, then drizzled with honey or dusted with powdered sugar. For this cheesecake, the “sopapilla” piece comes into play as a crust and topping for my cheesecake.

Ingredients

Cream cheese – Use full fat softened to room temperature.
Sugar – Granulated white sugar.
Egg – Use large eggs.
Vanilla – I used regular vanilla extract but paste or fresh vanilla bean will do the trick.
Salt – To taste.
Crescent rolls – I used store bought crescent rolls. You can substitute this with puff pastry.

Topping

Butter – I used unsalted.
Cinnamon and sugar – You can adjust the ratio to suit your preference.

How to make sopapilla cheesecake

Preheat your oven: To 350 F degrees.
Combine the wet ingredients: Add the cream cheese to a bowl and mix a bit until the cream cheese is softened and smooth. Add the 3/4 cup sugar, egg, vanilla extract, salt and mix until smooth, about 3 minutes until the mixture is smooth and creamy and there are no lumps.
Assemble the cheesecake: Unroll one package of crescent rolls into a 9×13 inch baking pan and line the bottom with the crescent dough. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the bottom crescent layer, spreading it evenly over the entire surface. Unroll the other package of crescent rolls and stretch it carefully over the filling.
Form the crumb: Brush the melted butter over over the top. In a smaller bowl combine the 1/4 cup granulated sugar and the cinnamon, then sprinkle over the top of the cheesecake.
Finish the cake: Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let it cool, then chill it in the refrigerator for a couple hours before slicing it. Serve it by drizzling some honey or chocolate syrup over the top.

sopapilla cheesecake sliced in a baking pan with a few pieces taken out

How to make homemade dough

Yes you can if you’d really like to go that extra mile! For those of you who don’t have crescent rolls that comes out of a can, you can make alternatives yourselves.

You have a couple options here. You can try my recipe for homemade croissant dough, this will take longer to make, but it’ll give you a great flaky texture.

For a faster and easier dough, this homemade crescent roll dough will do the trick.

How to store leftovers

You can pop leftover pieces of sopapilla cheesecake in an airtight container in the fridge or wrap them completely with plastic wrap. Your cheesecake will last 2-3 days refrigerated.

Cooked cheesecake also freezes really well. Just place the cakes, fully cooled and uncovered, on a pan in the freezer and allow to freeze entirely. Remove them and wrap with both plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Your cheesecake will last 3 months frozen.

Let the cheesecake thaw fully either in the fridge or at room temperature. A slow thaw works best versus using your microwave or oven.

two pieces of sopapilla cheesecake stacked on top of each other on a white plate with a couple leaves of mint

Check out these favorites from my cake collection:

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4.42 from 36 votes