Sweet Potato Cheesecake With Spiced Cookie Crust Recipes

Steps:

• For the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch deep dish pie plate with nonstick cooking spray.
• Mix the cookie crumbs, brown sugar, butter and salt together in a medium bowl until well blended. Press the mixture into the pie plate. Bake until set and the crust feels firm, 7 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
• To make the cheesecake filling: In a stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer, combine the cream cheese, sour cream, granulated sugar and salt, mixing at low speed until the mixture is smooth with no lumps, 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and eggs.
• Add the filling to the crust, smooth the top, and chill in the freezer until the filling is sturdy and set up, at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.
• For the sweet potato topping: In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Whisk in the sweet potatoes, half and half, butter, vanilla and eggs until smooth. Pour slowly over the chilled cheesecake filling.
• Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F and bake, covering the edges with foil if it browns too quickly, until set along the outside and the center still has a slight jiggle, 55 to 60 minutes. Let cool to room temperature before refrigerating until ready to serve.

Steps:

• For the crust: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Put the graham crackers in a food processor and pulse until fine crumbs, about 2 1/2 cups.
• Brush a 10-inch spring form pan with some of the butter. Add the graham cracker crumbs the remaining butter, 1/4 cup of the sugar and a pinch of salt to a medium bowl and stir to combine. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and 1 inch up the side of the pan. Use the back of a measuring cup or drinking glass to pack the crust firmly and evenly in to the edges of the pan. Bake until the crust is lightly crisp and set, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool completely, then set the pan on top of a large sheet of aluminum foil and wrap the foil around the bottom of the pan and up the sides. Place the springform in a roasting pan.
• For the filling: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Whip the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until smooth. Add the remaining sugar and beat until just light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl and the paddle attachment as needed, about 2 minutes. Add the sweet potato puree, sour cream, eggs, vanilla, ground cinnamon and salt and beat until just combined. Scrape the filling into the cooled crust.
• Carefully pour boiling water into the roasting pan so that it goes half-way up the sides of the springform pan, being careful not to get any of the water in the springform pan. Bake until the edges of the cheesecake are set but the center still jiggles when the pan is tapped, about 2 hours. Turn off the oven and open the oven door for 1 minute to let out some heat. Close the oven door and leave the cheesecake in the oven for 1 hour more. Carefully remove the cheesecake from the roasting pan, remove the foil and cool on a wire rack. Run a thin knife or spatula around the edges of the cake to release it from the sides, (this also helps reduce cracks in the top of the cake as it chills). Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate the cheesecake 8 hours or overnight.
• For the s'more topping: Once the cheesecake has chilled completely, put the semi-sweet chocolate chips in a medium bowl. Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it just comes to a simmer, about 2 to 3 minutes. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips and let stand for 1 minute, then stir the cream and chocolate together until completely smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the broiler to high. Pile the miniature marshmallows on top of the cheesecake in as even of a layer as possible (it's okay if some marshmallows overlap). Place the cheesecake on a baking sheet, then broil until the tops of the marshmallows are lightly golden brown, about 1 minute. Keep the oven door slightly open and rotate the pan as needed to get even browning.
• Run a thin knife or spatula between the cake and the pan to release it from the sides. Unlock the pan and remove the ring. Spray both sides of a sharp knife with non-stick cooking spray and slice the cake into 10 even slices, spraying the knife between each slice to keep the gooey marshmallows from sticking to the knife. Drizzle each piece of cheesecake with the cooled chocolate sauce and serve.

Steps:

• For the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8-inch springform with nonstick cooking spray. Wrap the springform in 2 layers of aluminum foil. It's best to use the widest type of foil you can find, one that can be uniformly wrapped up the sides of the springform without leaving a gap near the bottom of the pan. Place the springform in a cake pan or hotel pan wider than the springform. Set aside.
• Pulse the cookies, sugar and salt in a food processor until the mixture resembles a fine powder. Slowly add the melted butter and pulse until the mixture starts to clump.
• Transfer the mixture to the prepared springform and gently press the cookie mixture into the bottom of the pan. Use a small measuring cup to evenly tamp down the edges. Bake for 10 minutes and allow to cool slightly while you prepare the filling.
• For the filling: Put the sweet potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a simmer and cook until soft, about 15 minutes. Strain, transfer to a food processor and pulse until the sweet potato becomes a smooth puree. Measure out 1 cup sweet potato puree and set aside. (Reserve any remaining puree for another use.)
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the softened cream cheese. Mix on low until smooth. Add the sugar and mix until just combined. Don't overwhip.
• Whisk together the eggs in a small bowl and add to the stand mixer bowl. Mix until just combined. Add the cream, extracts, speculoos spice and salt. Sift the flour over the mixture and fold until the flour is incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Transfer 1/4 cup of the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a small open tip (Ateco number 3). Set aside.
• To the remaining batter, add the sweet potato puree and orange zest and fold into the batter with a rubber spatula until completely incorporated. Transfer the batter to the springform on top of the crust. Pipe the reserved batter into leaf shapes on top and pull a toothpick through the leaves.
• Transfer the pans to the preheated oven onto the middle oven rack. Carefully pour hot water into the larger cake pan or hotel pan so it comes just halfway up the springform. Bake until the batter just shimmies in the middle of the cheesecake, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Turn off the oven and open the oven door. Allow the cheesecake to cool in the cooling oven, about 2 hours.

Steps:

• Place a rack in middle of oven and preheat to 450°F. Place sweet potatoes on a foil or parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and roast, turning once, until skins are puffed and scorched in spots where the juices have bubbled out and caramelized and a skewer easily slides into flesh, 55-65 minutes. Let sweet potatoes cool slightly. Reduce oven temperature to 425°F.
• Peel sweet potatoes; discard skins. Transfer flesh to a food processor and process until smooth (or, pass through a food mill into a large bowl). Let cool at least 1 hour.
• Lightly butter pan. Cut 2 long lengths of parchment paper and crumple to soften (this will help it lay flatter in the round pan). Line pan with both sheets of parchment so they overlap in a crisscross manner; overhang should extend at least 2" above the rim. Beat cream cheese, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, until very smooth, about 3 minutes. With motor running, add 2 cups sweet potato purée by spoonfuls (reserve any remaining purée for another use); beat until fully incorporated. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down bowl and paddle as needed. Reduce speed to medium-low and mix in sour cream, cream, and salt. Scrape in vanilla seeds or add vanilla extract. Turn off mixer and sift in flour, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Beat on low speed just to incorporate, about 30 seconds. Fold batter a few times with a rubber spatula, making sure to scrape bottom of bowl. Scrape batter into prepared pan; smooth surface.
• Bake cheesecake until deeply bronzed and quite puffed on top but still with a pronounced wiggle in the center when gently shaken, 55-65 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cheesecake cool, about 1½ hours.
• To serve, carefully unmold cheesecake and peel away parchment before slicing. Do ahead: Sweet potato purée can be made 2 days ahead. Transfer to an airtight container and chill.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter until combined. Press evenly onto bottom and 1 inch up side of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake until set but not brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from oven, and cool.
• Beat cream cheese with electric mixer until smooth. Add sugar and brown sugar, beating until completely smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add sweet potatoes, eggs, evaporated milk, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg, beating until well combined. Pour into crust. Bake until edge is set, 45 to 55 minutes.
• Whisk sour cream, sugar and vanilla to combine. Spread over warm cheesecake. Return to oven, and bake until just set, 5 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack. Remove side of pan, and chill at least 5 hours and preferably overnight.