Photo by Karen E.
Organic Roasted Sweet Potato Cheesecake
SERVES: 12 to 16
TIME: 2 1/2 hours, plus 2 1/2 hours to cool and chill
INGREDIENTS:
2 dark orange-fleshed organic sweet potatoes (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lbs. total)
1 tbsp. melted butter
Pecan Crust (recipe follows)
2 tsp. fresh organic lemon juice
3 packages (8 oz. each) organic cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup organic granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed organic light brown sugar
4 large eggs
1/4 cup each organic whipping cream, sour cream, and maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp. organic cinnamon
1 tsp. organic ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. organic ground ginger
Maple Cream (recipe follows)
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Peel sweet potatoes and cut in half lengthwise. Place in a 9-by 13-in. baking pan and brush with butter. Bake until soft when pressed, 45 to 55 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, prepare Pecan Crust. Bake crust in same oven with potatoes until lightly browned all over, 10 to 12 minutes.
3. Scrape any charred spots off potatoes, then cut potatoes'into chunks. Whirl in a food processor or mash in a bowl with lemon juice until smooth. Reserve 1 cup; save any extra for another use.
4. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. In a bowl with a mixer on high speed, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sugars until well blended, scraping inside of bowl occasionally. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add sweet potato mixture, whipping cream, sour cream, maple syrup, and spices. Mix on low speed until well blended.
5. Wrap bottom of cheesecake pan with heavy-duty foil, pressing it up the side. Pour batter over crust. Put cheesecake pan in a 12-by 15-in. roasting pan at least 2 in. deep. Set pans in oven and pour enough boiling water into roasting pan to come halfway up side of cheesecake pan.
6. Bake until cake barely jiggles in the center when gently shaken, about 1 hour. Remove pans from oven. Lift cheesecake pan from roasting pan and let cool completely on a rack, about 1 hour, then chill until cold, at least 1 1/2 hours or up to 3 days (cover once cold).
7. Up to 6 hours before serving, cut around inside of pan rim to release cake; remove rim. Serve with Maple Cream.
Make ahead: Up to 3 days ahead, make through step 6.
PER SERVING 427 CAL., 61% (261 CAL.) FROM FAT; 6.2 G PROTEIN; 29 G FAT (17 G SAT.); 38 G CARBO (1. 1 G FIBER); 242 MG SODIUM; 133 MG CHOL.
Thanks to Karen E. for passing along this recipe from Sunset Magazine's November 2008 issue and allowing us to post a photo of her beautifully finished cheesecake. Below is a link to Sunset's original recipe page, but of course we encourage you to substitute conventional ingredients for organic ones!
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1119574
