This wintery cheesecake is two desserts in one: a luscious cheesecake and mini cinnamon rolls! Why decide for one if you can have it all!
Biscoff cookies build a caramel flavored base for this delicious treat!
Sweet Brown Sugar Cinnamon Filling
This cinnamon cheesecake does not cheap out on the filling, which makes it so good! The batter is alternated with the filling for a perfect cheesecake to filling ratio and beautiful look. The brown sugar cinnamon filling adds a lot of sweetness which can be overwhelming. I like to cut back on the sugar in the cheesecake batter for a better balance!
Another way to make it less sweet is to reduce the amount of filling. Half of the ingredients will still give it a great flavor and your tastebuds will not be too strangulated!
These are the cheesecake pans that I always use in my recipe videos: Springform pan and Removable bottom pan
A 8 inch springform pan is the traditional choice to make most cheesecake recipes. I usually use it for no bake cheesecakes. For baked cheesecakes I prefer the removable bottom pan. It has the advantage of fitting a water bath snuggly around it.
Read here my tips for a crackfree cheesecake every time!
Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake
Ingredients for a 8 or 9 inch cake
For the Biscoff cookie crust:
2 cups (250g) Biscoff cookie crumbs
4 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp cinnamon, optional
For the cheesecake batter:
24 oz (680 g) cream cheese, softened
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (120 ml) sour cream
1/4 cup (60 ml) heavy cream
4 large eggs
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
For the cinnamon roll filling
6 tbsp butter, melted
1 1/2 cups (300 g) brown sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon
3/4 cup (90 g) all-purpose flour
For the cinnamon glaze:
3/4 cup (75 g) powdered sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 to 2 tbsp heavy cream
For the decoration:
1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream
1/3 cup (35 g) powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
mini cinnamon rolls
Check out my chocolate cheesecake tutorial while this one is in the making
INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1:
Preheat oven to 350 °F. To make the Biscoff cookie crust use a food processor and pulse cookies until fine crumbs form or you can use a ziplock bag and rolling pin. Add melted butter and cinnamon. Pulse until combined. Prepare a 8 or 9-inch springform or cheesecake pan with parchment paper and grease it with baking oil or butter. Fill in the cookie crumbs and press into bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack and change the oven temperature to 300 °F. Heat up some water for the water bath.
Step 2:
While the crust is baking make the cinnamon roll filling. In a medium sized bowl add flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Mix it with a spatula or whisk. Add melted butter and mix until smooth.
Step 3:
To make the cheesecake batter use a large mixing bowl. Add softened cream cheese and mix it with flour and sugar on the lowest setting of an electric mixer until smooth. This should take about 4 minutes. Add sour cream, vanilla and heavy cream and mix it in. Then add the eggs and mix until smooth.
Step 4:
To assemble the cheesecake fill about a half of the cheesecake batter into the crust and smooth it out. Add the half of the filling and smooth it out. Then top it with the rest of the cheesecake batter and top it with the rest of the filling. Smooth it and swirl it with a spatula. Place the cake in the oven in a water bath on a lower rack. I like to use a large sheet pan and fill it up with hot water but you can place the cake directly into a water bath just make sure that you wrap it well with aluminum foil or a (silicone) baking pan. Bake at 300 °F for about 90 to 100 minutes. After baking turn off the oven without opening it and let the cheesecake cool in oven for about 10 minutes. Then remove water bath and place the cheesecake on a wire rack. Carefully run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Step 5:
Before serving the cheesecake make the cinnamon glaze. In a medium sized bowl combine powdered sugar and cinnamon with a whisk or spatula. Then add heavy cream and mix it until smooth. It should have a thick consistency. If it is too thick you can add up to half tablespoon of heavy cream more. Then remove the cheesecake from the springform pan and pour the glaze on top of it. Spread it with a spatula to make it smooth. Decorate it with sweetened whipped cream swirls and mini cinnamon rolls!
Enjoy cold!
**Pro Tips**
Another way of making cookie crumbs is to use a zip lock bag and a rolling pin to pulverize them into fine crumbs.
To soften cream cheese easily and quickly fill hot water in a big heat safe bowl place the cream cheese packages into the bowl. Let them soften for about 10 minutes. It will cream very nicely without mixing in too much air.
Make more cinnamon filling layers than only two. The cake looks lovely and tastes delicious with even more layers of cinnamon filling. For that simply alternate more often between the cinnamon filling and cheesecake batter or swirl it all together.
