The Special Ingredient To Add Extra Flavor To Sopapilla Cheesecake

When you think of cheesecake, you typically envision a creamy texture with some type of fruit topping like cherries or strawberries and a graham cracker crust. There's even more unique varieties that are perfect for the changing seasons like a pumpkin version of the dessert for fall or even an eggnog option for the winter months. However, you might be less familiar with sopapilla cheesecake, which features ingredients like crescent roll dough, sugar, and cinnamon.

The tasty dish was reportedly created more than 200 years ago in Albuquerque, New Mexico, according to Acapulcos. The meal is a traditionally Hispanic cuisine that can be served with a salty or sweet twist. Delighted Cooking notes that the decadent pastry is also popular in Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, and Argentina, and says the word "sopapilla" is a Spanish term for "fried bread." 

Miriam Hahn's delicious version of sopapilla cheesecake includes classic items like cream cheese, but also adds a special ingredient that provides the perfect pop of flavor that will have you coming back for seconds and thirds.

While making sopapilla cheesecake, Miriam Hahn developed an easy recipe to make that's also super tasty. She says her secret ingredient is allspice because of the incredible flavor it brings to the dish. "I love adding this to baked goods because you quickly get a hint of nutmeg and cloves which is such a good complement to cinnamon in sweet recipes," Hahn explains. And Blogger and baker Jullie Blanner agrees that this spice adds an incredible peppery and cinnamon taste to any meal you make with it, noting that it gives a nuanced spicy element to your favorite recipes.

To round out the sweetness of this version of sopapilla cheesecake, Hahn uses melted butter and a bit of vanilla to help give it a sweet taste. After mixing everything together, she puts it in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bakes it for 20 to 30 minutes.