Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake

Cinnamon Roll Batter:

• 2/3 cup white sugar
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 egg
• ½ cup whole milk
• 1 tbs 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 Tbs 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 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-inch Springform pan.

For the Cinnamon Roll Batter:

1. In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
2. Add the egg, milk, and vanilla. Beat for another minute. Scrape down bowl.
3. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine the sifted and creamed ingredients together.
4. Mix on low speed until thoroughly combined.
5. Spread half of the batter onto the bottom of the Springform pan.
6. This is the hardest part. It will be sticky and thick so spray your hands with baking spray and press down.
7. It doesn't need to be perfect - it's very forgiving.
8. It will be a thin layer but will rise up during baking.
9. Transfer the remaining batter to a small bowl and set aside.

For the Cheesecake Filling:

1. 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.
2. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition.
3. Add the vanilla and flour and beat for another minute.
4. Pour all of the cheesecake batter on top of the cinnamon roll batter that is in the prepared pan.

Cinnamon Filling:

1. In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar.
2. Mix until thoroughly combined.
3. Drop spoonfuls of the cinnamon filling over the entire top of the cheesecake making sure not to get too close to the sides.
4. If you get too close to the sides the filling could bubble out when baking.
5. 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.
6. Bake for about 45-55 minutes or until the center is set.
7. Cake will be puffy and lightly browned.
8. You can cover it will foil for the last 10 minutes if it is getting too brown for your liking.
9. Let chill for 20 minutes at room temperature and then cover and move to fridge for 4 hours.
10. Remove cake and let it warm up to room temperature just a bit.
11. Drizzle with Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe below).

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

1. Beat together cream cheese, butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. #Beat until light and fluffy.
2. Mix in additional milk if desired to reach the consistency you like.
3. Since the top of the cheesecake is pretty delicate, I oftened to drizzle the frosting instead of using a spatula.
4. I placed all of the frosting in a large gallon Ziploc bag.
5. I snipped off the corner with scissors (next time I would cut the hole a little smaller) and drizzled the frosting in a crisscross pattern.