Sweet Potato Cheesecake

I’m super excited to share one of my all time favorite recipes with y’all for this holiday season. It’s my Sweet Potato Cheesecake!  I love sweet potatoes and if you follow my Instagram page you definitely know that I absolutely love baking with sweet potatoes during this time of year. Now, don’t be intimidated by making your own cheesecake. It’s really not that difficult at all.  So, let’s flex our baking muscles and roll up our sleeves to get this cheesecake baked for your family and friends this holiday season!

Sweet Potato Cheesecake adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients:

Graham Cracker Crust

1 ¼-cup graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

¼ cup butter, melted

Dash of cinnamon

½-cup ground pecans ( optional)

Cheescake Filling

2 cups mashed or pureed sweet potatoes (bake your sweet potatoes the day before)

3 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup white sugar

1/3 cup sour cream

3 eggs

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Praline Sauce

¾ cups brown sugar

¼ cup butter

¼ cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Graham cracker crust:

Spray your spring form pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper to help with the cake release. In a bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs, ¼ cup sugar, ¼ cup melted butter, cinnamon and ground pecans. Press mixture into the bottom of a 8 ½ or 10 -inch spring form pan.

Cheesecake filling:

Add the sweet potatoes, cream cheese, ¾ cup sugar and 1/3 cup sour cream to your mixer and beat until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, blending well after each. Pour filing into crust.

Bake the cheesecake for one hour or until a tester inserted into center comes out clean. Turn off the oven and let the cake stand 1 hour in the oven with the door ajar.

Cool the cheesecake completely before releasing from the pan. I suggest cooking the cheesecake one day before you’re ready to serve it so that it can cool overnight in the refrigerator. Once completely cooled, release from the pan and add the praline topping.

**Tip: To prevent the cheesecake from cracking, reduce the oven temperature and cook a little longer.

Praline Topping:

Combine the brown sugar and ¼-cup butter in a heavy small saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar the dissolves. Increase heat, and bring to a boil. Mix in ¼-cup cream, then nuts. Pour hot topping over cheesecake. Serve or refrigerate until ready to eat. Enjoy!