Chai Apple Sopapilla Cheesecake

Inspired by the popular Mexican dessert, this chai apple sopapilla cheesecake is a delicious fall twist. The flaky homemade crescent dough is layered with sweet cream cheese, warm chai spices, and sauteed apples for a mouthful of goodness.

Watch how to make this

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour: The flour is used to make the crescent dough, providing structure and texture to the base and top layers of the cheesecake. It forms the gluten network that gives the pastry its characteristic flaky texture.
• Butter: Butter is crucial in the crescent dough, contributing to its flaky texture and rich flavor. It also helps create layers in the dough when folded. In the apple filling, butter adds richness and helps cook the apples.
• Active dry yeast: The yeast is used in the crescent dough to provide leavening, helping the dough rise and creating a lighter texture in the final product.
• Granny Smith apples: These apples provide a tart flavor and firm texture that holds up well during baking. They add a fruity element to balance the richness of the cheesecake and complement the chai spices. You can use another apple ideal for baking such as Honeycrisp or Braeburn.
• Honey: Used in the apple filling to add sweetness.
• Chai spices: The blend of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves creates the characteristic chai flavor profile. These spices add warmth and complexity to the dessert.
• Cream cheese: The main component of the cheesecake filling. It provides the creamy, tangy flavor and smooth texture characteristic of cheesecake.

Substitutions and variations

• Fruit: Try this recipe with another fruit such as pears.
• Spices: You can make a different blend for the chai spice mixture or keep it simple with just cinnamon.
• Gluten-free: Use gluten-free all-purpose flour for the dough.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Make the dough

Let's start with the crescent dough. You can skip this step and use store-bought crescent dough to save time. I chose to make it from scratch because I'm weird and like to make most things from scratch, but obviously, this takes more work. So you do you!

To make the dough, combine all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, active dry yeast, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. Next, cut the cold butter into small chunks and mix it into the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter or two forks until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. You can also use a food processor, but be careful not to overwork the dough.

Gradually add warm water, stirring until a sticky dough forms. Shape the dough into a disc, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. At this point, you can let the dough rest overnight.

After chilling the dough, dust a clean work surface with flour and pat down the crescent dough until it is about ½ inch thick. Fold the dough in half and turn it 90 degrees; then pat it down again to maintain its thickness. Repeat this process two more times before chilling it again for another 30 minutes.

This step is similar to the steps taken when you make puff pastry. Although this is not imperative for the crescent dough, it does help create great layers.

Step 2: Saute apples

While the dough chills, prepare the apple filling. In a large sauté pan over medium heat, melt butter and add peeled and chopped Granny Smith apples. You want to purchase enough apples to yield 1 ¾ pounds of chopped apples, roughly 6 large apples.

Cover the pan and cook for 5-6 minutes until the apples soften. Remove the lid and stir in honey and cinnamon, ensuring the apples are well coated. Once cooked, remove from heat and set aside to cool. You can also make the apple filling the day before.

Next, make the cream cheese filling by beating softened cream cheese with granulated sugar and vanilla until well combined. Set this mixture aside as well.

For the chai spice blend, combine granulated sugar with cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cardamom, ground nutmeg, ground allspice, and ground cloves in a medium bowl.

Step 3: Assemble

Once chilled, cut the dough in half and roll out each half to fit your prepared baking pan. Lay one portion of rolled-out dough in the bottom of the pan and sprinkle half of the chai spice mixture on top.

I know it looks like a lot of chai seasoning but we're making a large portion so you need all those wonderful spices to add enough flavor.

Spread the cream cheese filling over this layer followed by an even distribution of the apple filling.

Place the remaining rolled-out dough over the apples.

Step 4: Bake

To finish, brush the top of the pastry with melted butter and sprinkle with the remaining chai spice mixture.

Bake in the lower third of your preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. You want to bake the cheesecake in the bottom section of your oven to make sure that the bottom crust bakes.

Once baked, remove from the oven and allow it to cool before slicing into squares to serve. 

This chai apple sopapilla cheesecake has taken my heart. I loved it so much that my eyes rolled to the back of my head with my first bite. And with that, there was no turning back. Hopefully, you will enjoy this dessert as much as I did!

Make-ahead and storage tips

• Make-ahead: You can prepare the dough up to 2 days in advance and the sauteed apples the day before.
• Store: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.

Frequently asked questions

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Recipe

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Chai Apple Sopapilla Cheesecake

Total Time3 hours hrs

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: cake

Servings: 16

Author: Christine Ma

Ingredients

Crescent dough

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (260 grams)
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• ½ tablespoon active dry yeast (5 grams)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ⅔ cup cold butter, cut into small chunks (151 grams)
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water

Apple filling

• 2 tablespoons butter (28 grams)
• 1 ¾ pounds peeled and chopped granny smith apples (about 6 large apples)
• ¼ cup honey (84 grams)
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 32 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature
• 1 ½ cups granulated sugar (300 grams)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Chai spice blend

• ¾ cup granulated sugar (150 grams)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted (28 grams)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.
• Make crescent dough. Combine flour, sugar, active dry yeast, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. Add butter, cutting butter into dry mixture using a pastry cutter or 2 forks. Add water, stirring until a dough forms. The dough will be sticky. Shape into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make apple filling. Melt butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add apples and cover the pan. Cook for 5-6 minutes or until apples soften. Remove lid and add honey and cinnamon, stirring until apples are well coated. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
• Beat cream cheese with sugar and vanilla until well combined. Set aside.
• Make chai spice blend. Combine sugar with cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• Dust a clean work counter with flour and pat down crescent dough until it's ½-inch thick. Fold in half and turn the dough 90 degrees. Pat down until dough is ½-inch thick and fold in half again. Repeat 2 more times. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• Cut the dough in half and roll out each half so that it fits in the 9x13-inch baking pan. Lay one of the portions in the baking pan and sprinkle half of the chai spice sugar mixture on top. Spread cream cheese filling on top followed by the apples. Place the remaining dough on the apples.
• Brush top of pastry with butter and sprinkle remaining chai spices on top. Bake sopapilla cheesecake in the lower ⅓ rack of the oven for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool.

Notes

The weight of the apples is the total weight after they're chopped and peeled.

You can prepare the crescent dough up to 2 days in advance.

The apple filling can be prepared the day before.