Sweet Potato Cheesecake

Name: Sweet Potato Cheesecake
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 50 min
Total time: 10 h 20 min
Yield: 12 serving
Ingredients: 8 ounces gingersnap cookies; 4 tablespoons unsalted butter; 2 pounds sweet potatoes; 24 ounces cream cheese; 1 cup granulated sugar; 3 large eggs; 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice; 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract; ¼ cup heavy whipping cream; salted caramel sauce; homemade whipped cream; toasted pecans

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Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
1 hr 30 mins
Additional Time
8 hrs
Total Time
10 hrs 20 mins
Servings
12
Course
Dessert

Sweet Potato Cheesecake

Iris Warren

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Sweet potato cheesecake is smooth, creamy cross between sweet potato pie and your favorite cheesecake. The buttery gingersnap crust makes it irresistible.

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Ingredients

Servings

For the crust:

8 ounces gingersnap cookies crushed (about 25 cookies)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted

For the filling:

2 pounds sweet potatoes
24 ounces cream cheese room temperature (three 8-ounce packages)
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs room temperature
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼ cup heavy whipping cream

Optional toppings:

salted caramel sauce
homemade whipped cream
toasted pecans

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Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Tightly wrap a 9 inch springform pan in heavy duty foil. This step prevents leaks when using a water bath. I also take the extra step by placing the foil wrapped spring form pan inside an oven bag while baking, but this is optional (see recipe notes below for more info on this process). Lightly spray the springform pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
Lightly spray pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, stir together crushed gingersnap cookies and melted butter until thoroughly combined.
Press the crumbs into the bottom and about 1 inch up the sides of the prepared springform pan.
Bake gingersnap crust in preheated oven for 8 minutes. Remove pan from oven and cool completely. Increase oven temperature to 400°F.
Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and pierce each sweet potato several times with the tines of a fork. Bake until tender, about 50 minutes. Cool sweet potatoes completely.
Once sweet potatoes are cool, peel and puree them. I used a food processor, but you can also use a blender.
Return oven to 350°F.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with your paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and mix until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add in pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, heavy cream and sweet potato puree and mix until smooth.
Pour batter into prepared crust. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until it is halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan.
Bake 55-60 minutes, the edges will appear to be set, but the center will still have some jiggle to it. At this point, turn off the oven, but leave the door cracked and allow the cheesecake to rest in the cooling oven for one hour.
After one hour has passed, carefully remove the cheesecake from the water bath and place on a cooling rack to cool completely. Once the cheesecake is completely cooled, place it into the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.
Before serving, top with whipped cream, chopped pecans and salted caramel sauce.

Notes

Don’t be intimidated by the water bath process. I have a post that walks you through baking a cheesecake in a water bath. You can skip the foil and oven bag for the water bath by placing your 9-inch springform pan into a 10-inch cake pan. Set this entire thing into the roasting pan, then add the boiling water into the roasting pan, outside of the 10-inch pan. This will still let the water bath do its job without the danger of any leaks.