Has it ever be 5:30 PM on a Sunday night when you realize you signed up for dessert for the work carry in tomorrow? This always seems to be the case for me and our hectic schedule! About 2 weeks ago the carry in at the office happened to be a Mexican theme. In a panic, I jumped on Pinterest searching for “Mexican Desserts”. I stumbled upon a very popular item with multiple different recipes. I don’t think I have ever met someone that doesn’t love sopapillas or cheesecake, so a combination of the 2 had to be win!
This recipe is a slightly modified version of https://www.kitchengidget.com/2018/03/16/puff-pastry-sopapilla-cheesecake/ with the best part being it didn’t keep me up all night! I have shared my tips and tricks below and hope you enjoy!
BOTTOM PUFF PASTRY
Start by spraying your baking dish with nonstick spray and roll out your defrosted puff pastry. I didn’t measure my size, I just kept rolling until the pastry was big enough to cover the bottom and sides of my dish. Polk the pastry with a fork and throw that bad boy in the oven for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. While this is cooking you can start working on your cream cheese filling!
CREAM CHEESE FILLING
If you don’t have a KitchenAid, a hand mixer will work, but if you want some serious time saving, you will definitely want to invest in a stand mixer! I love recipes that I can throw everything listed into my mixer and let’r whip! My cream cheese was still in the fridge, SHOCKING, so I used the soften button on my microwave to get it to a nice soft consistency.
Now it doesn’t get much easier than this. Add your 2 blocks of cream cheese, your sugar and your vanilla and turn your mixer to medium-high speed with the flat beater connecter until your cream cheese is smooth and fluffy!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE vanilla and usually find myself adding extra to every recipe I make. So if you are feeling wild you can even increase this even more than I have! I also buy my vanilla in bulk anytime I go to Mexico! So I guess you can call this dish even more authentic!
SPREAD THE FILLING
After your bottom pastry is removed from the oven allow it to cool slightly. I am impatient so I only waited 5 minutes and it worked out great. Your puff pastry will shrink down and no longer cover the sides and that’s ok! You can see in my picture below.
You are now to the hardest step…. which is still very easy! Time to spread the cream cheese filling over the puff pastry! My bottom pastry wanted to slide around while I was spreading so I found myself holding down one corner while I spread it out with a rubber spatula. It does not need to be perfect and will even out while it bakes!
TOP PUFF PASTRY
The final steps are upon us! Take your second puff pastry and roll out to the size that you have extra to tuck down the sides. You will want to center the top pastry over the dish and tuck each edge down under the cooked bottom pastry. You will want to poke a few holes with your fork in the top, just like you did on the bottom.
CINNAMON/SUGAR TOPPING
Last but not least! Mix your 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon together. Pour the melted butter over the puff pastry and cover the butter with your cinnamon and sugar. Bake for 25 minutes!
I took this dish to my work carry in and it was gone before noon! I brought a small bottle of honey so people could add a drizzle if they wanted to really ramp up the sopapilla aspect of the dessert! Happy baking, and I know you won’t be disappointed with this dish! For more dessert ideas and recipes check out my Favorite Desserts!
Sopapilla Cheesecake
Equipment
- 1 kitchen aid mixer
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 9×13 baking pan
Ingredients
- 2 sheets thawed puff pastry I like peperridge farm
- 2 8 oz blocks cream cheese
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp vanilla
Topping
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- thaw puff pastry and roll out with a rolling pin until it is big enough to cover the bottom and sides of your 9×13 pan. spray your pan with nonstick cooking spray and gently lay the pasty into your pan. Take a fork and poke holes throughout the pastry. Bake for 15 minutes
- While your bottom pasty is baking. Combine softened cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in your mixer. Whip on high until it is a light and fluffy consistency.
- Once the bottom pasty is cooled – spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the bottom cooked pastry.
- roll out the second puff pastry to a size that can cover the 9×13 with extra to tuck down into the side of the baking dish and place over the cream cheese mixture.
- pour melted butter over the top pastry.
- combine the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the melted butter.
- Bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees
- refrigerate overnight and let sit at room temperature for 2 hours prior to serving
- drizzle with honey if you desire extra sweetness
