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    You are here: Home / Special Diets / Vegetarian / Sopapilla Cheesecake

    Sopapilla Cheesecake

    2 August 2019 - By Michelle Minnaar
    This post may contain affiliate links.

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    Jump to Recipe

    This sopapilla cheesecake is a creamy and delicious! If you are a fan of sopapilla pastry, you are going to love this cheesecake recipe. It consists of different layers, which ultimately gives the cheesecake a different flavour in every bite. The top layer is a crunchy cinnamon layer which complements the cheese filling and the sopapilla base perfectly. You can even opt to omit the cinnamon layer, if you wish, and add a fruity layer instead. I understand that not everyone is a massive fan of cinnamon, but don’t despair. Otherwise, you can decorate the sopapilla cake with fresh fruits, as I did in my stunning sugar free angel food cake recipe. 

    Keep reading to find out more about sopapilla cheesecake. You’ll also learn tips and tricks for making the best and smoothest cheesecake fillings. Lastly, I will detail what sopapilla pastry is and provide a list of suitable alternatives.

    Three slices of a sopapilla cheesecake

    a drop-dead-delicious sopapilla cheesecake pie recipe

    Looking at this recipe, you can easily mistake it for a pie recipe. Ordinarily, a cheesecake is circular and is enjoyed in delicate slices. Well, this sopapilla cheesecake recipe resembles a pie in two ways.

    1. It is baked in a rectangular form, just like this apple and rhubarb crumble pie
    2. It has a ‘golden brown’ cinnamon layer on top which resembles a pie crust

    Do you agree? 

    what is sopapilla

    In short, sopapilla is a type of fried pastry, generally served in South America, with its strong Spanish heritage and cultural influence. 

    You might also know sopapilla by these names:

    • sopaipilla
    • sopaipa
    • cachanga 

    The term “sopapilla” is derived from the Mozarabic term “Xopaipa”, which translates to bread which is soaked in oil.

    Generally speaking, it’s made out of leavened wheat dough. This means that the dough is actually a mix of traditional wheat flour as well as masa harina and some butter. To learn more about masa harina and the best masa harina substitutes, click here.

    Once the dough mixture rises, the dough is rolled out in a sheet from which you can cut out circular, triangular or square forms. 

    Next, those shapes are deep-fried in oil, which allows the sopapilla to puff up. You’ll know you have the perfect sopapilla, when your centre has a hollow pocket. Of course, you don’t have to make them from scratch to complete this sopapilla cheesecake recipe. You can buy them.

    where to buy sopapilla

    • Bridgeford Foods Sopapilla Dough
    • Pioneer French Doughnut and Sopapilla Mix
    • Bridgford Sopapilla Dough Sheets
    A pan with crust and a white cream filling

    variations of sopapilla

    Below you’ll find the different types of sopapilla in different countries: 

    Uruguay

    In Uruguay, they call it torta frita. Ordinarily, they are quite salty because there is a lot of salt in the mix. Hence, when they are ready, so they are sprinkled with sugar. 

    USA

    Typically, sopapillas in the US are served as snacks along with dips, salsas or sauces. Plus, they are very small, almost pillow-shaped.

    Argentina

    Here, you can find sopapillas under these names: sopaipa, torta fina, chipa cuerito, kreppel, sopaipilla or supaipa. Generally, they are very flat and thin.

    Peru

    If you visit Peru, you might know it as cachanga. They are served for breakfast – either sour or sweet.  If you are interested in Peruvian cuisine, you should also try my lomo saltado or my ceviche with tiger’s milk.

    Chile 

    There is a long history of eating sopapillas in Chille. Apparently, traditional Chilean sopapilla recipes call for ground pumpkin inside the dough mix. If you fancy a savoury version, you serve them with a chilli pepper dip and cilantro. The sweet version is served with syrup, orange peel as well as cinnamon. This can be an excellent source of inspiration for this sopapilla cheesecake recipe. Therefore, consider adding orange zest and serving them with syrup or honey.

    Ingredients to make a sopapilla cheesecake

    sopapilla substitutes

    In general, a close substitute for sopapilla would be a Madeleine cookie for France. However, as with any cheesecake recipe, any type of cookie substitute works.

    For instance, you can consider:

    • vanilla based cookies
    • plain digestives
    • chocolate digestives for a chocolatey base
    • biscoff cookies like I did with my delicious biscoff cheesecake

    The choice is entirely yours!

    tips & tricks

    There some clever tricks you can try when making your sopapilla cheesecake successful. For example:

    • Mix in the cheese element at room temperature. It will bind better.
    • Add a hint of flour or cornstarch to thicken up your filling, which was done in this recipe.
    • Fold your batter. Don’t over mix it.
    • Let your cheesecake chill completely before you serve it so that it can solidifies properly.
    A layered crust in a pan

    lemon sopapilla cheesecake

    Now comes the interesting part where you can let your creativity shine. First, to make this sopapilla cheesecake recipe your own, add some citrus zest. This will lighten up the cheesecake. Plus, it will add a wonderful contrast to the creamy sweetness of the cheese. 

    Here, you can either use lemon, orange or other citrus. Let me remind you, orange zest and cinnamon go hand in hand. It’s the perfect recipe for the upcoming autumn holidays. Consider it a comfort dessert!

    If you’ve got leftover cream cheese, feel free to inspire yourself with these recipes:

    • amarula cheesecake – made with special Amarula liqueur
    • toblerone cheesecake – top choice if you love toblerone
    • maltesers cheesecake – one of my favourites

    chocolate sopapilla cheesecake recipe

    Next, if you love chocolatey cheesecakes, you can add cocoa powder into the mix. For instance, add a tablespoon of cocoa powder and watch the cheesecake change colour. The more you add, the more intense the flavour. In short, don’t add too much, otherwise your cheesecake will lose its creaminess. Additionally, it can become a little bitter. Of course, this depends on the type of chocolate you use. 

    A sopapilla cheesecake with a cinnamon layer on top

    sopapilla cheesecake bars recipe

    In fact, the way I’ve cut the cheesecake resembles my mars bars cakes recipe or sugar free flapjacks. In my opinion, you should cut them up into little squares too. This way, they are more manageable and can even be eaten by hand – in my house anyway!

    In summary, you can also consider the following toppings:

    • fresh fruit
    • chocolate or chocolate shavings
    • biscuits
    • syrup 
    • icing

    How would you serve this cheesecake?

    Print
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    Sopapilla Cheesecake


    ★★★★★

    5 from 1 reviews

    • Author: Michelle Minnaar
    • Total Time: 50 minutes
    • Yield: 12 squares 1x
    Print Recipe
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    Description

    You simply must try this delicious sopapilla cheesecake recipe! Learn more about this dessert and its Spanish heritage. Make it today!


    Ingredients

    Scale

    Crust

    • 500g (16oz) croissant pastry

    Filling

    • 250g (8oz) cream cheese
    • 200g (1 cup) granulated sugar
    • 1 egg
    • 5ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract
    • 5ml (1 tsp) ground cinnamon
    • 32g (¼ cup) flour, sifted

    Cinnamon Topping

    • 200g (1 cup) brown sugar
    • 15ml (1 tbsp) ground cinnamon
    • 115g (½ cup) unsalted butter, melted

    Instructions

    1. Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / gas mark 4.
    2. Grease a 9 x 13 inch (23cm x 33cm) pan with butter. Alternatively, use nonstick cooking spray.
    3. Unroll half the croissant pastry and line the bottom of the pan. You’ll need to press the seams together or use a rolling pin to shape it into the rectangular pan.
    4. For the Filling, beat the cream cheese and sugar until the mixture is light and creamy.
    5. Add the cinnamon, vanilla and egg and stir until everything is well incorporated.
    6. Slowly add the flour until the mixture thickens.
    7. Spread the filling evenly on top of the croissant pastry.
    8. Layer the remaining half of the croissant pastry on top of the filling. Yet again you’ll need to press the seams together or use a rolling pin to shape it into the rectangular pan. Close all the seams together so that you essentially created a type of closed pie.
    9. Before drizzling the cheesecake with the cinnamon topping, ensure the the cheesecake’s surface is totally flat. I.e. you don’t want a large, buttery puddle to form in the center of the cheesecake while cooking. In fact, you would like to the butter to roll down the sides to crisp up the pastry at the bottom to make this offbeat cheesecake to die for!
    10. For the Cinnamon Topping, give the sugar, cinnamon and butter a quick stir in a bowl, ensuring the sugar doesn’t dissolve because you want it to form a crunchy layer at the top.
    11. Proceed to drizzle the butter mixture evenly over the cheesecake.
    12. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the pastry has puffed up and turned golden brown. The bottom layer should be light golden in colour.
    13. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely before removing it from the pan.
    14. Place in the fridge to chill for at least 3 hours and preferably overnight.
    15. Cut into squares and enjoy.

    Notes

    • Croissant pastry is known as crescent rolls in the USA. The product tends to be sold in 250g (8oz) cans, so in this recipe you need 2 cans.
    • For a thinner cheesecake, halve the Filling ingredients.
    • The use of flour is optional but it helps to make the cheesecake denser.
    • Prep Time: 10 minutes
    • Cook Time: 40 minutes
    • Category: Cheesecake
    • Method: Bake
    • Cuisine: Mexican

    Keywords: sopapilla cheesecake recipe, sopapilla cheesecake bars, Mexican dessert recipe

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @greedygourmet on Instagram and hashtag it #greedygourmet

    Three pieces of sopapilla cheesecake

    More Vegetarian

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    • White Chocolate and Raspberry Blondies
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    • Biscoff Blondies
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    Comments

    1. Sally

      April 29, 2020 at 10:28 pm

      wow wow wow, this looks so decadent!

      ★★★★★

      Reply

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