Thanksgiving Sweet Potato Cheesecake

1 . Stage

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Prick sweet potatoes several times with a fork and place onto a baking sheet.

2 . Stage

Bake in the preheated oven until sweet potatoes are easily pierced with a knife, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from the oven and allow to rest, 8 hours to overnight.

3 . Stage

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

4 . Stage

Combine graham crackers, walnuts, sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a food processor and blend until crumbly. Incorporate melted butter. Press mixture evenly into a 9-inch springform pan to form a crust.

5 . Stage

Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and reduce temperature to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Let crust cool.

6 . Stage

Place a cake pan filled with water on the bottom rack of the oven to create moisture and prevent cheesecake from cracking.

7 . Stage

Combine baked sweet potatoes, cream cheese, white sugar, brown sugar, lemon extract, vanilla extract, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a high-powered blender (such as Vitamix®) and process until smooth. Mix in whole eggs and egg yolks on the lowest speed possible; be careful not to overmix filling.

8 . Stage

Pour filling into crust.

9 . Stage

Bake in the preheated oven until a tester comes out clean and cheesecake just jiggles slightly in the center, about 1 hour and 25 minutes. Leave cheesecake in the oven with the door ajar to allow cheesecake to cool gradually and prevent cracking, about 45 minutes.

10 . Stage

Refrigerate cooled cheesecake for 2 hours before serving.