I absolutely ADORE Fall. The weather is perfect for oversized hoodies, I can sit around all day drinking hot tea and I get to make pie!! Except pie crust is a hassle to make and I don't have the time or patience for that. Soo the next best thing is tarts! I absolutely love tarts. You can make them all year around using in season flavors AND the crust is ridiculously easy to make. So I introduce my first Autumn tart: Sweet Potato Cream Cheese tart. A true beauty, I know! Sweet potato pairs so so nicely with cream cheese and this tart is all around balanced between sweet and tangy. Top it off with some whipped cream and garnish it with pretty leaves made of leftover tart crust and you got yourself the perfect treat!
What exactly is a Sweet Potato Cream Cheese Tart?
It's exactly what the name suggests. A combo you would have never imagined: sweet potato filling right on top of a cheesecake filling all in a tart crust. Amazing isn't it? Sweet potato and cream-cheese work so well together and make this dish the perfect dish for a family occasion during the fall.
This Sweet Potato Cream Cheese Tart is a whole lot easier to make than a sweet potato pie. I can't be the only one who struggles with the dreaded pie crust (you with me?)
Overall, this tart is a fall dish you will love eating and making!
This Sweet Potato Cream Cheese Tart was baked in a water bath to prevent the dish from drying out or even burning and will prevent cracking and sinking.
What is a Water Bath?
Custards, flan, and cheesecakes are usually baked in water baths. What this means is that the they are baked in a pan (a springform pan is commonly used), then the pan is set into a bigger pan containing hot water. Then you place it all in the oven for baking!
Water baths require a bit more time but in the end, I PROMISE, it will be worth it. Just make sure that the water doesn't leak inside of the pan.
How to Bake in a Water Bath:
Wrap the pan with a double layer of aluminum foil. It should cover the outer layer of the pan, meaning the bottom and sides all the way to the top of the pan.
Place the pan in a large roasting pan filled with around 1-2 inches of hot water.
Transfer them carefully into a preheated oven and bake! :)
How to make these gorgeous leaves to garnish:
To spice up our tart, I made some cute little leaves to symbolize the beauty of fall. And guess what? It is 100000% easier to make then it looks. Ready for the secret?
Leftover tart crust!!
All I did was take some of the tart dough that I cut off when I placed it on my pan and used a knife to cut out different leaf shapes. Next, I made indentations into the dough for the vain pattern. If you have a leaf cookie cutter, by all means, use that!
Then, I baked them on a small cookie tray with parchment paper for about 10 -12 minutes and voila! Cute edible decorations for your cute tart!
Happy baking! :)
-Sarah <3
Recipe Details:
Yield: 1 (9x1 in) tart
Time spent
Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 35 minutes | Total time: 50 minutes
Ingredients
For the crust:
1/4 cup flour
1 stick butter
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 egg (1/2 egg white+1/2 egg yolk)
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Sweet Potato filling:
1 cup boiled sweet potato
2/3 cup half-and-half
4 tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
Pinch of salt
1 egg
Cream Cheese filling:
1 cup unsoftened cream cheese
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
Instructions
For the Tart Crust:
Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, mix together your flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
Add the egg and then your butter and mix until it forms a dough. (using a dough attachment is ideal for this part).
Cover the dough with cling wrap and refrigerate for 30-45 minutes.
For the Sweet Potato Filling:
Put your cooked sweet potatoes in a food processor, and blend until it's smooth.
Transfer to a bowl and add your half-and-half, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and egg. Beat it all together with a whisk. Set aside.
For the Cream Cheese Filling:
Using a hand or stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until creamy. Then add your granulated sugar until it's well incorporated.
Finally, add an egg and beat until combined.
Assembly:
Roll out your tart dough and place onto your pan carefully (using flour is very helpful!)
Spoon in your cream cheese mixture on top and spread to distribute evenly.
Pour your sweet potato filling very carefully, you want to prevent it from mixing with the cream cheese. Using a spoon, lightly distribute evenly around the tart.
Place the pan into a water bath. (Scroll up for more information on water baths!)
Bake the tart at 350° F for 35 minutes.
Allow to cool completely before removing the tart from the pan.
Garnish using whipped cream and edible leaves made of tart dough. (Scroll up to learn how to make the edible leaves I used!)
Tips
Use unsoftened cream cheese over softened cream cheese. We want the cream cheese mixture to be thicker than the sweet potato filling. That way, the two won't mix.
Refrigerate your tart dough before rolling out and placing on the tart pan. It's easier to work with and won't rip.
Use a water bath!! This will make sure your tart is as smooth as possible, will make it less dry and will prevent it from cracking or shrinking while baking.
Let the tart cool completely before taking out of the pan. Otherwise, it will fall apart which would be an absolute bummer!