Instead of the standard sweet potato pie this holiday season, why not try this sweet potato cheesecake made with my homemade pumpkin pie spice?
For some similar recipes, why not make this recipe for Christmas Shortbread Cheesecake? Or to use some more sweet potatoes, why not make this Easy Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows?
Sweet Potato Cheesecake
Cheesecake is one of life’s rare pleasures, but there are plenty of ways to make it even better.
This recipe uses some sweet potatoes to not only make everything taste like sweet potato but also gives it a really deep, caramel-like sweetness that helps tie the whole cheesecake together.
Feel free to play around with the spices used in both the filling and the topping. The topping really only adds the crunchy element to the top of the cheesecake, but there is nothing stopping you from adding a bunch of Christmas-y and comforting spices as well.
Sweet Potato Cheesecake Ingredients
Make sure you look at the recipe card at the very bottom for the exact amounts so that you know exactly what to buy for this recipe.
Crust
• Graham cracker crumbs
• White sugar
• Butter
• Chopped pecans
• Cinnamon
Filling
• Sweet potatoes mashed
• Cream cheese packages
• White sugar
• Brown sugar
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Ginger
• Vanilla extract
• Sour cream
• Heavy whipping cream
• Eggs
Topping
• Packed brown sugar
• Butter
• Heavy whipping cream
• Chopped pecan
How To Make Sweet Potato Cheesecake
• Mix together the crust ingredients and press mixture into the bottom of 9 & ½ inch springform pan
• Bake at 350 Fahrenheit for 10 minutes and then set aside
• Place the sweet potatoes in a baking dish and bake until soft and then mash
• Beat cream cheese, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger until smooth
• Mix in sour cream, vanilla extract, whipping cream, and sweet potatoes
• Beat the eggs one at a time, blending well, and then pour it into the crust
• Bake more at 350 Fahrenheit for 50-60 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out totally clean
• Turn off the oven, crack the door open a bit and leave the cheesecake to cool for 1 hour
• Combine the brown sugar and ¼ cup of butter (or margarine!) in a heavy small saucepan
• Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves
• Increase heat, and bring to a boil
• Mix in the cream and then the pecans, and pour the hot topping over the cheesecake
• Store leftover cheesecake in the fridge if there is any left!
How To Change Up The Spices For This Recipe
This sweet potato cheesecake uses a pretty standard and familiar spice blend for its filling, using pumpkin pie spice, which you can make yourself with a few spices!
However, there is no one forcing you to only use the same standard spice blend as this recipe – you are in charge in your own kitchen!
Why not make it completely different? Use some rich cardamom, or even change it up totally and use some regional spices from wherever you are? Some garam masala and a few other Indian spices could turn this cheesecake into something spicy and tangy rather than the regular comfy warmth that most people are familiar with.
Experiment! The worst that happens is you need to make it again with some different spices.
Could You Use Low Fat Cream Cheese & Cream For This Recipe?
A common question many people have when they see a rich, fatty recipe like this is whether or not they are able to substitute some of the richer ingredients for low-fat alternatives.
Well, if you are hoping to use low-fat cream cheese or light cream in this recipe, please just go for a different recipe. The lower fat content will basically ruin the texture of the cheesecake and might even lead to the whole thing splitting and separating.
However, you can use true low-fat alternatives instead. For example, you could substitute some of the heavy cream and cream cheese for some slightly lower fat (but not fat-free!) Greek yogurt. The tanginess of the Greek yogurt will help make up for some of the missing flavors from the regular stuff and will also help to bind and keep everything together.
The best thing to do, though, is to just accept the higher calories and only make this when you are fine with eating a whole lot of delicious fat for dessert. After all, it’s got sweet potatoes in it, and they’re a vegetable, so it’s healthy, right?
Looking for more delicious Cheesecake recipes? Try these out:
• Girl Guide Cookie Cheesecake
• Rainbow Cookie Cheesecake Bites
Enjoy!
Love,
Karlynn
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Sweet Potato Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup salted butter melted
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Filling
- 3 8 ounce packages cream cheese softened
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 cups baked sweet potatoes mashed
- 3 large eggs room temperature
Topping
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup salted butter
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Mix together the crust ingredients and press mixture into the bottom of a 9 1/2-inch springform pan. Bake 10 minutes; remove from oven and set aside. Keep the oven on.
- Beat the cream cheese, white sugar, brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice until smooth.
- Mix in the sour cream, vanilla extract, whipping cream and sweet potatoes until fully combined. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Gently pour the filling into the crust.
- Bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes, until a tester inserted near the center comes out clean.
- Turn off the oven and open the oven door a crack. Let the cheesecake stand in the oven cooling for one hour.
- To make the topping, add the brown sugar and salted butter to a small saucepan. Over medium heat, heat and melt the butter and sugar together until smooth. Bring to a low boil then stir in the whipping cream and pecans.
- Remove from the heat and pour over the cheesecake top. Store the cheesecake in a closed container in the refrigerator.
Notes
- You can skip the topping and use whipped cream if you like!
Chastity Marie Washington says
This recipe was superb. I didn’t have pumpkin seasoning and boy was it expensive at the store. So I used cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. It came out perfect. I definitely will be using again.
Precious says
Hi there, wanting to know if I can use sweet potatoe purée?
Amy Gallagher says
How long should I bake it? I have no idea how long it takes to have a tester come out clean.
Can’t wait to make it. Looks fabulous. All your recipes are fabulous!