Sweet Potato Cheesecake

Two of my favorite desserts are Sweet Potato Pie and Cheesecake. So it made complete sense to combine the two! This cheesecake tastes exactly like a sweet potato pie but with the creamy texture of a cheesecake. And get this: the cheesecake is topped with caramel! This cheesecake is the perfect recipe to take to holiday parties or share with family and friends at the Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner table! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
 


Sweet Potato Cheesecake
Prep Time: 30 minutes                                                   Cook Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Difficulty: Moderate                                                        Yields: 12 servings

Ingredients:
Graham Cracker "Cookie" Crust:
  •     1 ½ cups cinnamon graham cracker crumbs
  •      ½ cup granulated sugar
  •      ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  •     1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  •     ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Cheesecake Filling:
      ·         2 pounds sweet potatoes
      ·         3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
      ·         1 cup white sugar
      ·         1/3 cup sour cream
      ·         1/4 heavy cream
      ·         3 large eggs, room temperature
      ·         3 teaspoons vanilla extract
      ·         1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
      ·         2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
      ·         ½ teaspoon ground cloves
 Caramel Topping:
      ·         3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
      ·         1/4 cup unsalted butter
      ·         1/4 heavy cream

Preparation Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and melted butter. Press mixture into the bottom and partially up the sides of a 9 1/2-inch springform pan. Bake for 15 minutes; remove from oven and allow to cool. Remember to keep the oven on.

Using a small paring knife or a potato peeler, peel the sweet potatoes and cut into large chunks about the same size. Boil the sweet potatoes in a large pot or Dutch oven for about 20 minutes until fork tender. Once fork tender,  drain the potatoes and return to the same pot. Make sure that there is no residual water. Using a hand-held mixer, mix the potatoes on high speed for a couple minutes until it reaches a homogenous mixture. Set aside 1 1/2 cups of pureed sweet potatoes.

In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and 1 cup sugar until smooth. Mix in sour cream, heavy cream and 1 1/2 cups sweet potato puree. Beat in eggs one a time, making sure to blend well after each egg. Add the vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves to the mixture and blend well. Pour cheesecake filling into cooled crust.

Bake in 350°F over until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, about 1 hour.

Turn off the oven. Let cheesecake stay in the oven for an additional hour with the door opened.

When ready to serve the cheesecake, combine brown sugar and butter in a heavy small saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Mix in the heavy cream. Pour hot caramel over cheesecake. Store leftover cheesecake (if there is any left) in the refrigerator.

Cook's Notes:
·         If the sweet potatoes are really stringy when pureeing, you may want to rinse the mixer beaters and mix again to remove the strings.
·         When you place the cheesecake in the oven, fill a 91/2 x12x2 pan with hot tap water. Place the pan with water on the oven rack beneath the cheesecake. The steam from the hot water allows the cheesecake to cook gently and usually prevents cracks.








 

 

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