Marija Dimitrovska | Nueces EC

This one is for my cinnamon roll lovers. All the flavors of the delicious pastry baked into a cheesecake is simply genius. I’ll be whipping this one up regularly.

—Vianney Rodriguez, Food Editor

Crust
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Cinnamon Swirl
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup (2/3 stick) butter, melted

Filling
4 packages cream cheese (8 ounces each), softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
4 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cream cheese frosting (optional)

1. Crust Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir to combine. Stir in melted butter. Press mixture into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.

2. Bake 10 minutes. Allow to cool. Once cool enough to handle, wrap the bottom of the pan with a few layers of foil.

3. Cinnamon Swirl In another bowl, stir together brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Stir in melted butter. The mixture will be thick and gooey. Set aside.

4. Filling Beat cream cheese on medium speed 2–3 minutes, until smooth. Add brown sugar and sugar, and continue beating an additional 2 minutes, scraping down sides as needed. Add sour cream and beat until incorporated.

5. Add eggs one at time and beat on low until combined, scraping down sides of bowl. Gently stir in vanilla and salt.

6. Pour 1/3 of filling over cooled crust. Gently spread 1/3 of prepared cinnamon swirl over filling. Repeat this process until you have poured all the filling and top off with the last of the swirl.

7. Place springform pan in a large roasting pan. Add hot water to roasting pan halfway up side of springform pan to form a water bath. Carefully place in oven and bake 60–70 minutes. At this point, the cheesecake will be slightly jiggly to the touch, but the edges will be set. Turn off oven and allow cheesecake to cool in the oven 30 minutes. Then remove roasting pan from oven.

8. Allow to cool completely before removing cheesecake from water bath. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. When ready to serve, run a knife around edge of cheesecake to separate from springform pan, then remove side wall. Place on a cake stand or serving platter.

9. Top with cream cheese frosting, if desired.

Serves 12.