Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake

Last weekend we celebrated my cat's 10th birthday - there were games, cat cocktails, and karaoke. Mostly for the humans since Travyss is a bit of a party pooper. Check out this post for some tasty Black Cat Cocktails.

Travyss

But a special cat deserves a special cake for his birthday, so we decided to make a Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake.  This was a fairly involved recipe, but if you like cinnamon rolls AND cheesecake, it just might be worth it. ;-)

CINNAMON ROLL CHEESECAKE

Ingredients

Cinnamon Roll Batter:
•    2/3 cup white sugar
•    ¼ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
•    1 egg
•    ½ cup whole milk
•    1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
•    2 cups flour
•    2 teaspoons baking powder
•    1/2 teaspoon salt
Cheesecake filling:
•    2 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, at room temperature
•    1 cup sugar
•    1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
•    2 Tablespoons flour
•    3 eggs
Cinnamon Filling:
•    1/3 cup butter, melted
•    1 cup brown sugar
•    3 Tablespoons cinnamon
Cream Cheese Frosting:
•    3 oz cream cheese, softened
•    1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter, softened
•    1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
•    1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
•    1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-inch Springform pan.
2.    For the Cinnamon Roll Batter: In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
3.    Add the egg, milk, and vanilla. Beat for another minute. Scrape down bowl. 

 4.    Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine the sifted and creamed ingredients together. Mix on low speed until thoroughly combined.
5.    Spread half of the batter onto the bottom of the Springform pan. This is the hardest part. It will be sticky and thick so spray your hands with baking spray and press down. It doesn't need to be perfect - it's very forgiving. It will be a thin layer but will rise up during baking. Transfer the remaining batter to a small bowl and set aside.

 6.    For the Cheesecake Filling: Using a stand mixer or hand mixer (a clean bowl), beat cream cheese and sugar for 2 minutes on medium-high speed in a large bowl.

7.    Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition.
8.    Add the vanilla and flour and beat for another minute.
9.    Pour all of the cheesecake batter on top of the cinnamon roll batter that is in the prepared pan.

 10.    Cinnamon Filling: In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Mix until thoroughly combined. 

 11.    Drop spoonfuls of the cinnamon filling over the entire top of the cheesecake making sure not to get too close to the sides. If you get too close to the sides the filling could bubble out when baking.

12.    Take the rest of the base batter and drop spoonfuls over the entire top of cheesecake. Swirl gently with a knife. The batter is thick but just gently do it the best you can.
13.    Bake for about 45-55 minutes or until the center is set. Cake will be puffy and lightly browned. You can cover it will foil for the last 10 minutes if it is getting too brown for your liking. Let chill for 20 minutes at room temperature and then cover and move to fridge for 4 hours. Remove cake and let it warm up to room temperature just a bit. Drizzle with Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe below). 

14.    For the Cream Cheese Frosting: Beat together cream cheese, butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Beat until light and fluffy. Mix in additional milk if desired to reach the consistency you like. 

We ran out of cream cheese, so we never got to give the frosting a shot, but the cake was plenty good even without it.  Popping it in the microwave for maybe half a minute really highlights the cinnamon roll flavor and the cheesecake adds a sweet creaminess to it.  The only thing I would change for next time is to make sure the cinnamon is swirled in a little better. There were some spots with clumps of cinnamon that were just a little too bitter.    

Travyss didn't try it, but I'm sure he appreciated the thought. :)