Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake
This Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake has a cinnamon filling swirled in the batter. It is fluffy, creamy, and delicious.
The base of the cheesecake is a buttery graham cracker crust. Every bite is loaded with creamy cheesecake, and the rich cinnamon filling. The cheesecake is topped with cream cheese frosting and cinnamon sprinkle.
If you love cinnamon rolls, this is the perfect cheesecake for you!
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Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake
I will show you how to make this Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake Recipe step-by-step.
The full list of ingredients to make this cheesecake is on the bottom of the page. Here I will go into detailed instructions and more tips on how to make this delicious dessert.
We will start by making the graham cracker crust.
Graham Cracker Crust
Mix the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl.
If you don’t have graham crackers, you can use any digestive biscuits, or Biscoff cookies.
Add the melted butter to the bowl, and mix to combine.
Pour the crust into a 9″ or a deep 8″ springform pan. I am using a 8″ deep springform pan from Fat Daddios, and it’s my favorite pan.
Use a cup to press the crust very tightly to the bottom of the pan.
Bake the crust in the oven.
Let it cool down while you make the cheesecake filling.
Cinnamon Roll Swirl
To make the Cinnamon Roll Filling, mix the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter together in a medium bowl.
Add the melted butter and mix to combine. Set it aside and make the cheesecake batter.
Cheesecake Batter
To make the Cinnamon Roll cheesecake batter you can use a hand mixer or a stand mixer.
Add the room temperature cream cheese to a large mixing bowl.
Beat the cream cheese with the electric mixer until fluffy.
Add the sugars and beat again to combine, followed by the sour cream. Mix until incorporated.
Always remember to scrape the sides of the bowl every so often.
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing each egg until incorporated before adding the next one.
Once the eggs have been added, add the vanilla and mix.
The cheesecake batter is ready.
Assemble
To assemble the cheesecake to bake, start by pouring 1/3 of the prepared batter on the bottom of the baked and cooled down crust.
Sprinkle the top of the batter with 1/3 of the Cinnamon Roll Filling mixture, using your fingers to break up into crumbs.
Top with another 1/3 of the cheesecake batter.
Next, sprinkle another 1/3 of the Cinnamon Roll Filling on top of the batter.
Follow with the remaining cheesecake batter.
Top the cheesecake batter with the final bit of cinnamon filling.
Use a spatula to spread it around, and to cover the cinnamon filling with a bit of the cheesecake batter, which will prevent the cheesecake from cracking.
Wrap the bottom of the springform pan with aluminum foil. Place in a larger roasting pan, and pour water in the pan to form a water bath.
Bake the cheesecake for one hour or until it’s still jiggly in the center but set around the edges.
Turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in there for one hour. Some people like to leave the oven door slightly open, but I just leave mine closed.
This is important to avoid cracking. The sudden temperature change when removing the hot cheesecake from the oven will cause the cheesecake to deflate and break.
Once the cheesecake cools down, place it in the fridge for at least 6 hours before serving.
Cream Cheese Frosting
This frosting is very mild, and not overly sweet. I wanted a frosting that would be light and fluffy, and not overly sweet. So this frosting is very mild, it doesn’t compete with the richness of the cheesecake.
Simply beat the cream cheese, then add the powdered sugar and mix. Add the vanilla.
On a separate bowl, whip the cream until it has stiff peaks.
Add the whipped cream to the cream cheese and powdered sugar mixture, and fold to combine.
To decorate
Place the Cream Cheese Frosting in a piping bag fitted with a round tip.
Pipe on top of the chilled cheesecake, before serving.
Sprinkle cinnamon on top.
Cut into slices and serve.
Storage
You can store any leftover cheesecake in the fridge for up to 5 days, in an air tight container.
The cheesecake can also be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Tips for making cheesecake
- Make sure the ingredients for the cheesecake batter are at room temperature.
- Scrape the bowl a few times while mixing, during every stage. This will ensure the batter is going to be smoothly incorporated.
- Add the eggs one at a time.
- Once you add the eggs, don’t over mix. That can cause the cheesecake to break.
- Make sure to use a water bath.
- Leave the cheesecake in the oven for one hour once done baking.
- Don’t bake at a high temperature. If you have convection oven, reduce baking temperature by 20 degrees.
Another tip to avoid cracking on top of the cheesecake is to run a knife around the edges of the cake once it’s done baking.
When doing that be mindful that the cheesecake has to stay in the oven, so it doesn’t have a harsh temperature drop, which can cause it to deflate and break. So you have to be careful not to burn yourself.
I don’t personally do that because I grease my pan well, so my cheesecake never sticks. But if your pan tends to stick, or if you forgot to grease it, you can try running the knife around the edges of the cheesecake.
This Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake has all the best holiday baking flavors! It will be a hit at any celebration. If you follow my tips you will be successful at making a very delicious cheesecake.
Here are some more recipes you might like:
- Biscoff Cheesecake
- Caramel Cheesecake
- Pistachio Cheesecake
- No-bake Cheesecake
- Pecan Pie Cheesecake
- Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake Bars
- Cranberry Cheesecake
- Cannoli Cheesecake
If you make this recipe leave a comment below or tag me on instagram, I love seeing your creations!
I was inspired by the lovely cheesecake on the delish website to make this version.
Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs 180 grams, or digestive biscuits
- 1/4 cup brown sugar 55 grams
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter melted, 85 grams
Cinnamon Roll Swirl
- 1 cup brown sugar 220 grams
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 39 grams
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter melted, 76 grams
Cheesecake batter
- 907 grams cream cheese softened 4 packages of 8 oz.
- 1 cup brown sugar 220 grams
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar 50 grams
- 1/2 cup sour cream 120 grams
- 4 large eggs room temp
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 6 tbsp cream cheese 85 grams
- 1 cup powdered sugar 125 grams
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream 240 ml
- 1-2 tsp cinnamon powder
Instructions
Graham Cracker Crust
- Pre-heat the oven to 325ºF.
- Place the graham cracker in a food processor and process to obtain fine crumbs.
- Add the brown sugar and the cinnamon to the graham cracker crumbs, and mix to combine.
- Melt the butter and add to the bowl. Mix with a spatula.
- Press the mixture on the bottom of an 8” or 9” cheesecake pan. If using an 8” springform pan, it must be deep.
- Bake the crust in the oven for 10 minutes.
- Remove it from the oven and let it cool down.
Cinnamon Roll Swirl
- Mix the brown sugar with the flour and cinnamon. Add the melted butter and mix to combine. Set it aside and make the cheesecake batter.
Cheesecake Batter
- Grease the sides of the cheesecake pan.
- Beat the cream cheese for 3 minutes with a mixer at medium speed, until creamy.
- Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar to the cream cheese and beat for another 2 minutes at medium speed.
- Scrape the bowl and beat for another 30 seconds.
- Add the sour cream and mix to combine. Scrape the bowl.
- Make sure to scrape the bowl a few times during the mixing process, to avoid the cream cheese from forming lumps in the batter.
- Add the eggs to the batter, mix just until combined. It’s best to add one egg at a time, waiting for one egg to be incorporated before adding the next one.
- Avoid over mixing once the eggs are added, to prevent cracking of the cheesecake.
- Add the vanilla, salt, and mix briefly.
- Pour 1/3 of the cheesecake batter in the pan, over the baked and cooled crust.
- Next, spread 1/3 of the Cinnamon Swirl on top of the batter. Use your fingers to break up the crumbs while you sprinkle it over the batter.
- Pour another 1/3 of the batter over the Cinnamon Swirl.
- Spread 1/3 of the cinnamon filling on top of the cheesecake batter.
- Follow by the remaining batter.
- Top the cheesecake with the rest of the cinnamon filling. Use a spatula to spread the crumbs around and cover them with the batter, that will help the cheesecake not crack.
- Wrap the bottom of the pan with a few layers of foil.
- Place the pan in a larger roasting pan, and add hot water to the roasting pan, to form a water bath. This is very important so the cheesecake doesn’t crack.
- Bake the cheesecake in the pre-heated 325ºF oven for 60 to 75 minutes.
- To check if the cheesecake is done baking, give the pan a little wiggle, it should jiggle slightly in the center, but the edges should look set.
- Turn the oven off, and leave the cheesecake in there for 1 hour.
- Remove the cheesecake from the oven and place it in the fridge for at least 6 hours.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer for about 1 minute. Add the powdered sugar and mix with the mixer for another minute.
- Add the vanilla and mix.
- Set aside.
- To another mixer bowl, add the heavy cream and whip with an electric mixer until it has stiff peaks, for about 3 minutes.
- Add the whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture, and fold with a spatula to combine.
To decorate
- Place the frosting in a piping bag lined with a round tip.
- Pipe in a swirl on top of the cheesecake.
- Sprinkle the cinnamon on top.
Notes
- Grease the pan.
- Don’t over mix the batter once the eggs have been added.
- Don’t skip the water bath.
- When the cheesecake is done baking, shut the oven off and leave the cheesecake in there for one hour.
- Don’t bake at a high temperature. If you have convection oven, reduce baking temperature by 20 degrees.
I really like the flavour profile of this cheesecake however, I made this with a water bath and left it in the oven for an hour before taking it out. It still had cracks in it and there was like a caramel syrup inside the tin foil despite me wrapping it in 3 layers of foil. What do you think went wrong?
was this syrup perhaps grease from greasing the pan? did you use too much oil or butter to grease it perhaps?
if water leaked inside it could be many issues, for example, not using wide enough foil. If i dont use the widest foil which is 18″ wide, water is bound to leak inside. or when you were pouring the water bath in the pan, if some went inside the foil, that has accidentally happened to me before.
And cracks can happen if you over bake, or over beat the eggs, or bake at too high of a temperature. also if you kept opening the door to the oven many times or just a few times in a way that made the temperature change inside the oven, that can also happen.
And in the case of this cheesecake, if the cinnamon roll filling on top wasnt covered by batter and was exposed, that can cause the cheesecake to crack as well.
Fantastic recipe and everything is exactly how it should be!
Was a huge hit!! I just didn’t add the sour cream. It turned out very good.
That’s so wonderful to hear! Thank you!!
Hi looks great gonna try it today. If I halve the recipe what would be the cooking time in a convection oven?
Are you using a smaller pan?
Typically in convection ovens, things bake faster, and specially if it’s a smaller amount. Start checking the cheesecake at 30 minutes, try not to open the door too wide, or for too long, just long enough to check it. give the pan a wiggle and the top should look slightly jiggly in the center, but set around the edges. Keep checking every 5 to 10 minutes depending on how jiggly the cheesecake is.
Hi! i’ve done this once before and it turned out absolutely AMAZING! everyone loved it! however this time i don’t have all purpose flour. can i use regular flour? is there any other substitutes? or is the all purpose flour mandatory!?😕
Hi Liz! Im glad you loved the recipe. all purpose flour is regular flour. What do you mean by regular flour?
thanks for the quick reply girl! i was referring to self rising lol oopsies. however turns out i did have all purpose 😅! (the cheesecake is literally in the oven right now). thanks soooo much!
Hii, I an new here. I found this blog very useful and informative.
Thanks for the nice blog.
I plan to use GF graham crackers for the crust but do you think I can use gf flour for the cinnamon swirl part? Or even leave out the flour all together? Thanks.
yes you can definitely use gluten free flour for the cinnamon swirl as well.
This recipe is a total crowd-pleaser. It is rich, decadent, and relatively easy to make even though there are multiple elements to the recipe. I will be making this again!
That’s wonderful to hear! Thank you!!
Should the oven door be cracked for the hour it sits? To help it come to room temp naturally?
It can be, or not. If I noticed I over baked my cheesecake a bit, Ill open the door of the oven. But I usually just leave mine closed. My oven cools down pretty quickly too.
Hi! I want to try this but I’ve never made a cheesecake and used a water bath. How much water needs to be in the roaster?
Just a couple of inches are fine.
Do you have the nutrition information?
Hi! This looks delicious, and I’d love to try it out. I want to make it smaller though, for a small birthday cake. Is 6” doable?
Yes, you can just halve the recipe.
could i bake these in cupcake tins for minis?
definitely. you’ll have between 24 and 30 mini cheesecakes. no need for water bath. bake for about 20 to 25 minutes (depends on how full you fill up each cupcake cavity)
Does the cream cheese for the frosting need to be cold or room temp and when do you take the cheesecake out of the pan after 6 hours in the refrigerator or before you put in the fridge? Thank you so much
the cream cheese needs to be room temp for the frosting. and you take the cheesecake out of the pan after it sat in the fridge for 6 hours. 🙂
Thanks so much for the fast reply my cheesecake looks great so far just need to frost it
If i make this in a gas oven how long should i bake it, and what is the temperature? And is there something else i should know about baking it in gas oven :D. I have never used gasoven before so thats why stupid question 😀
If your gas oven is very strong, I’d reduce the temp to 300F. Also dont skip the water bath.