Sweet Potato Cheesecake
Crust:
- 2 cups fine gingersnap crumbs (about forty 2-inchround cookies)
- 1 cup pecans, very finely chopped
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted
- ¼ cup raw sugar (available at most supermarkets)
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- Two 8-ounces packages light cream cheese (Neufchâtel), at room temperature
- 1¼ cups firmly packed puréed, baked sweet potato (about 1 very large or 1-pound sweet potato)
- 2/3 cup raw sugar ¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon bourbon
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 jumbo eggs
- 1 cup evaporated milk (use “light,” if you like)
- 1 cup sour cream (use “light,” if you like)
- ¼ cup raw sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup finely chopped, lightly toasted pecans (4 to 5 minutes in a 375° F. oven)
Instructions:
Southerners so love sweet potatoes that they will stir them into soups, salads, breads, puddings, cakes, even cheesecakes.
- Preheat the oven to 375° F.
- For the crust: Combine all ingredients and pat over the bottom and halfway up the sides of an ungreased 10-inch spring-form pan. Slide onto the middle oven shelf and bake for 8 to 10 minutes or just until the crust firms up a bit. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- Meanwhile, prepare the filling: Beat the cream cheese, sweet potato, two sugars, bourbon, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt in a large electric mixer bowl at medium speed for about 1 minute or until smooth. Beat the eggs in one by one, then with the mixer at low speed, add the milk in a thin, slow stream. Beat a few seconds longer or until smooth.
- Rap the bowl of filling on the counter several times to expel large air bubbles, then pour into the crust and spread to the edge. Set on a large baking sheet, slide onto the middle oven shelf, and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the filling is set like custard.
- Meanwhile, prepare the topping: Whisk the sour cream, sugar, and vanilla together in a small bowl, then set aside.
- When the cheesecake tests done, remove from the oven (baking sheet and all), set on a wire rack, and cool for 10 minutes exactly. Also raise the oven temperature to 475° F.
- Using an offset spatula, carefully spread the topping over the partially cooled filling; it should touch the crust all around. Sprinkle the toasted pecans evenly on top.
- Return the cheesecake, still on the baking sheet, to the middle oven shelf and bake for 10 minutes—no longer.
- Remove the cheesecake from the oven and from the baking sheet. Set on a wire rack and cool for 45 minutes, then place in the coldest part of the refrigerator and slide a large round tray on top (a pizza pan is perfect). Cool for at least 12 hours or better yet, overnight.
- To serve, release the spring-form clamp and lift off the sides of the pan. Leave the cheesecake on the pan bottom and cut into slim wedges.