Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake

Is it a thing? I guess now it is. A delicate, creamy yogurt cheesecake supported by the lovely foundation of a cake-like cinnamon roll pastry sweetened naturally with honey. Plenty of cinnamon-honey filling enhances the cheesecake filling and graces the top  with a fanciful swirl, complemented by Post Great Grains Crunchy Pecans cereal as a healthy alternative to a crispy crust. I added just a sprinkling of cranberries, but I heartily support using more if you like.

Kill two cravings with one stone with this irresistible pastry wrapped around a decadent cheesecake.

Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake

cheesecake adapted from recipe on oikosyogurt.com

makes one 9″ round cake (about 8 servings)

Ingredients:

dough

• 1-1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 cup plain almond milk
• 1 tbs Earth Balance Whipped Buttery Spread
• 2 tbs organic honey

cheesecake

• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup Truvia baking blend
• 1 container (6 oz) plain nonfat Greek yogurt (I used Open Nature brand)
• 1 Laughing Cow brand Creamy Swiss cheese wedge
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbs whole wheat pastry flour

cinnamon swirl

• 1/4 cup Earth Balance Whipped Buttery Spread
• 1/4 cup organic honey
• 1/3 cup Truvia baking blend
• 1 tbs cinnamon

additional toppings

• 1/3 cup Post brand Great Grains Crunchy Pecans cereal
• 3 tbs dried cranberries (or more if desired)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Line a 9″ round pan with aluminum foil. Spray this with cooking spray.

For dough: In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Mix.

Cut in one tbs Earth Balance, cold. Add almond milk and honey. Mix well. Dough will be wet and soft.

For cheesecake: In another large bowl, combine two eggs and 1/4 cup Truvia. Use a hand mixer to beat together for a few minutes. Gently add yogurt, Laughing Cow cheese, and vanilla. Blend in using a spoon. Add one tbs whole wheat pastry flour, and mix in softly.

For cinnamon swirl: Melt 1/4 cup Earth Balance in the microwave. In a medium bowl, combine the melted Earth Balance, 1/4 cup honey, 1/3 cup Truvia, and 1 tbs cinnamon. Mix well.

Now, it’s time to put it together: Arrange the cinnamon roll/cake dough around the edge of the pan in a circle. If you have enough dough left over, make some smaller swirls or circles inside the bigger one. (Really, you can do this in any configuration you see fit: I tried to make it look like a cinnamon roll but honestly I think it ended up kind of a fail.)

Slowly pour cheesecake mixture into the empty areas around/inside the dough circles, filling all the space.

Using a spoon, swirl about 2/3-3/4 of the cinnamon roll filling mixture into the cheesecake mixture.

Bake at 350 Fahrenheit for a total of 20-25 minutes, stopping around the 15-minute mark to sprinkle with the cereal and cranberries, and again when you are only a few minutes away from being done to drizzle the remaining cinnamon swirl mixture over the top of the cake (or do this after you remove the cake from the oven.)

Refrigerate overnight. Serve cold.