King Cake Cheesecake | Cinnamon Cheesecake

Watch my King Cake Cheesecake Web Story here.

Why Make This Recipe?

First of all, it’s cheesecake, so what’s not to love?

It’s an easy recipe to memorize because it has an easy ratio:

1 block cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1 oz cream cheese (plus seasoning/flavorings

Since it has an easy ratio, you can make a 6″ cheesecake with 2 blocks, an 8″ with 3 blocks, and a 9-10″ cheesecake with 4 blocks of cream cheese.

The batter is rich and thick and bakes up beautifully in a water bath.

How to Make a King Cake Cheesecake

This cheesecake is made in 3 parts:

• Graham cracker crust, which you can make with homemade Graham crackers or store-bought
• Cheesecake filling
• Cream cheese glaze and colored sugar

Ingredients and Substitutions

Here’s what you’ll need to make each component. Where possible, I will also provide substitutions that will work in this recipe.

For the Crust

• Graham crackers: You can also use vanilla wafers or chocolate sandwich cookies if you prefer
• Butter: The fat holds the crust together. You probably don’t need nearly as much as you think you do. Sub coconut oil or plant-based butter
• Salt: For flavor. I generally find there is no need to add additional sugar, but if you must, you can add a tablespoon or so.

NOTE: Adding extra sugar to your crumb crust can cause it to set up too hard, making it very difficult to cut to serve or to eat.

For the Filling

• Cream cheese: Provides body, tang, and the bulk of the filling. You may sub neufchatel in blocks if you prefer. In that cast, do use the otherwise-optional cornstarch to prevent any weeping.
• Sugar: Provides sweetness, minimal aeration, and body
• Brown sugar: Brown sugar and cinnamon is a good enough combo for breakfast toaster pastries, so it’s good enough here!
• Salt: Brings out the flavor in the rest of the ingredients
• Cinnamon: Provides warm, spicy notes
• Vanilla: Rounds out the cinnamon flavor
• Sour Cream: Adds a little extra tang and loosens the batter up a bit. You can substitute creme fraiche or buttermilk. (I have a cinnamon buttermilk cheesecake if you’d like to check that out as well)
• Eggs: Adds structure and allows the cheesecake to set up to a sliceable consistency.
• Cornstarch (Optional): When the starch gelatinizes, it holds onto liquid in the batter that would otherwise begin to weep out after a couple of days

If making this for Mardi Gras, you may want to hide a pecan half in your batter. It’s better than baking a plastic baby in your cheesecake!

Whoever gets the slice with the pecan is in charge of next year’s festivities!

For the Topping

• Cream cheese: Provides tang and body
• Sour cream: Same as cream cheese, plus since it’s a bit looser, it helps make a good glaze consistency
• Salt: Brings out the flavor. Don’t leave it out!
• Vanilla: Rounds out the flavor of the glaze and provides floral notes.
• Powdered sugar: Provides sweetness and contributes to the thickness of the glaze

Procedure

Cheesecakes are fairly straightforward to make.

Here’s the procedure. Be sure to follow my tips for success below to make the perfect King Cake Cheesecake!

1. Make and pre-bake the crust.
2. Mix all the cheesecake ingredients together on low-to-medium speed. (See recipe for the order)
3. Scrape into prepared pan and bake in a water bath.
4. Cool and chill.
5. Glaze and decorate in Mardi Gras colors (or however you like)

To Avoid Using a Water Bath

If you prefer to bake without a water bath, double the crust ingredients (you may have some leftover), and press the crust all the way up the sides of the pan.

Be sure to add a bit of extra butter so it will pack more easily when pressing it up the sides of the pan.

The crust will help to insulate the filling so it bakes evenly.

I would still recommend adding a pan of water to the oven to make a humid environment and minimize cracking.

Variations

This is a good, basic cheesecake recipe. As such, you can vary it to suit your taste.

Stir in mini chocolate chips, leaving out the cinnamon or not.

Flavor it with lemon juice and a touch of lemon oil along with the vanilla. Again, leave the cinnamon out if going this route.

For a very tall and proud King Cake cheesecake, increase the amounts to 2 pounds cream cheese and 4 eggs, scaling up the rest of the ingredients accordingly.

Turn this cinnamon cheesecake into a Thanksgiving centerpiece by spreading some of my spiced pumpkin caramel sauce on top of the chilled cake and then topping with chopped candied nuts.

Equipment/Ingredient Recommendations

You may want to use a push pan or springform pan to bake this cake.

This will eliminate the need of turning the cake out and then flipping it right-side up.

But know, even if you don’t own either kind of pan and only have an 8″ x 3″ cake pan, you can still successfully make a cheesecake.

The best way to tell if your cheesecake is done is to use an instant-read thermometer. They are very versatile, and I highly recommend picking one up.

If decorating for Mardi Gras, you’ll want purple, green, and gold sanding sugars or sprinkles.

Tips for Success

Make sure all your ingredients–including cream cheese, sour cream, and eggs are at room temperature. This will make for a smoother batter and easier mixing.

When mixing the batter, don’t mix faster than medium speed. This will minimize the amount of air you beat into the batter and keep your cheesecake from “soufleeing” and then falling, causing cracks.

Cool your cheesecake gradually–first in the oven with the door open, and then on the counter. Finally, refrigerate it. Slow cooling also minimizes cracking.

If your cheesecake cracks anyway, don’t despair. The glaze will cover it, and nobody ever has to know!

Visual How-To

Here is a video clip to give you an idea of what the texture of your batter should look like at different stages.

I hope you find it helpful!

Also, here is the order to add the ingredients, mixing after each addition:

• cream cheese, salt, and both sugars
• cinnamon and vanilla
• sour cream
• eggs, 1 at a time

After everything is incorporated, this is how luscious your batter should look:

Cheesecake Q & A

Serving Suggestions

This cheesecake stands on its own, friends.

It is rich, cinnamony, and very, very tasty.

And the crunch from the sugar on top is really nice.

If you love cinnamon and nuts, consider chopping some candied pecans and serving this cheesecake with a spoonful of hand-whipped cream and a sprinkle of the nuts.

And if you’re making a King cake cheesecake as part of your Mardi Gras celebration, consider serving it as dessert after a meal of chicken & sausage gumbo or red beans and rice.

Questions?

If you have any questions about this or any other recipe or post on the site, there are a few ways to get in touch.

You can leave a comment on the post, and I’ll be back in touch within 24 hours.

If your question is more pressing, don’t hesitate to email me, and I should be back in touch within 4 hours (unless I’m asleep) or often much more quickly than that.

A Note About Measurements

This is the kitchen scale that I recommend for home cooks and bakers. Using a scale will help you be more accurate and consistent in your measurements.

It is lightweight, easy to store, accurate, and very easy to use.

NOTE

I have updated this post to better reflect what people are searching for: cinnamon King Cake cheesecake, and not a cinnamon cheesecake-filled King Cake. If you are looking for the original cheesecake-filled King Cake recipe, email me, and I will send it to you.

This is just a stop-gap until I get a new post up for that recipe. Thank you!

I hope you’ve learned something from this post or that you’ve decided to make the recipe.

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Thank you so much for spending some time with me today. Enjoy the cinnamon King Cake Cheesecake!

Take care, and have a lovely day.