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Chai Apple Sopapilla Cheesecake

Course Dessert
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword cake
Total Time 3 hours
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
  • 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.