My incredible, decadent sweet potato tart is a tasty combination of creamy sweet potato filling inside of a sweet shortcrust pastry! Top it all off with a marshmallow meringue topping for a simply stunning holiday dessert!
Sweet, indulgent, and gorgeous on your table – my sweet potato tart is the perfect dessert!
If you love sweet potato casserole or candied yams topped with marshmallows, this is the dessert for you! The filling is rich and goes so perfectly with the crisp tart shell and pillowy meringue.
My sweet potato tart is perfectly decadent and topped with a marshmallow meringue that will wow everyone! It's a fabulous treat any day of the year, but a beautiful dessert to serve at Thanksgiving!
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This recipe is surprisingly easy too! Follow my detailed instructions and tips and we’ll make this stunning dessert together!
❤️ Why I Love This Recipe
It’s Decadent! A rich sweet potato tart topped with a gorgeous, silky meringue? It’s indulgent, decadent, and absolutely delicious.
It’s Fun! Making meringue and swirling it on top of a pie is so much fun—even kids can get involved!
It’s Beautiful! Whether you top this tart with meringue, marshmallows, or even a scoop of ice cream, my sweet potato tart is a stunner! It’ll wow everyone!
🥘 Ingredients
We’ve got a few ingredients here, but don’t worry! You can make the crust ahead of time so you’re always ready to make this tart!
Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
- Butter— For this recipe I like the butter to be unsalted and softened at room temperature. This way, it easily incorporates into the dough.
- Sugar – We’ll use a little sugar to sweeten the dough here! You can use granulated white cane sugar.
- Egg – This helps to bind the dough and help it brown – make sure it’s beaten beforehand!
- All-Purpose Flour – The bakers staple all-purpose flour is all we need to help make the structure of the dough!
- Vanilla – I love to add vanilla to all my sweet pastries – it just gives it a better flavor!
- Salt – Table salt is perfect here to balance and highlight the flavors of the dough.
Sweet Potato Filling
- Cream Cheese – Cream cheese adds richness, flavor, and structure to our filling. Make sure it’s room temperature so it blends easily.
- Sweet Potato Purée – For this, you want cooked, peeled sweet potato that you’ve mashed or processed in a blender or food processor (See Tips & Recipe Notes).
- Light Brown Sugar – We need a little extra sweetness here, and the rich, caramelized flavor of the brown sugar is perfect.
- All-Purpose Flour – In the filling, we’ll just use a couple teaspoons to help give more structure to the tart.
- Vanilla Paste – I love vanilla paste here for a concentrated, intense vanilla flavor. You can also use half of a vanilla bean, then save the rest for the meringue!
- Cinnamon – Sweet potato desserts need a little spice!
- Ground Cloves – Another sweet spice that complements the sweet potatoes perfectly.
- Eggs – These should be at room temperature to help it blend into the filling.
Marshmallow Meringue Topping (optional)
- Egg Whites – The eggs whites should be at room temperature for the best results!
- Sugar – Mixing the whipped egg whites with sugar is what makes this topping so creamy and marshmallow- like!
- Cream of Tartar – This helps the meringue to keep its structure! You can find cream of tartar in your grocery store’s spice or baking aisle.
- Salt – This also helps to balance the flavors of the topping. You can use whatever salt you have on hand here.
- Vanilla Paste – I love the sweet flavor vanilla gives, as well as the beautiful specks that will be sprinkled throughout the meringue.
📖 Variations
If you don’t want to make the meringue topping, you can generously top the tart with mini marshmallows after baking! Set your oven to broil and heat the mini marshmallows for about 1 to 2 minutes, or until toasted and golden brown.
🔪 Instructions
My sweet potato tart is the most perfect holiday dessert! If you’d like more detailed instructions, process photos, and tips for the sweet shortcrust pastry, visit my easy recipe post!
Make the Pastry Dough
- Cream Butter and Sugar – In a large mixing bowl, beat ½ cup (one stick) of softened butter until smooth. Next, add ¼ cup granulated sugar and cream the two until light and fluffy. Carefully add in 1 large beaten egg and then 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
- Mix Dry Ingredients. In a second bowl, combine 1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour and ⅛ teaspoon of salt, mixing to incorporate. Then, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until you have a crumbly, loose dough.
- Chill Dough.Bring the dough together into a ball and place it onto a sheet of cling film. Wrap the dough completely and flatten into a disc, then put into your fridge and chill for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.
- Press Out Dough.Once the dough is chilled, you can either use your hands to press out the dough or roll out the tart dough to fit the pan. You want to make sure to have the dough go slightly higher than the tart pan to accommodate any shrinking while baking.
- Blind Bake the Crust. Fill your tart pan and chill the dough for 30 minutes in the fridge or 15 minutes in the freezer, so it won’t shrink. Preheat your to 350°F (175°C) and dock chilled the tart dough and bake with baking weights for 8 to 12 minutes.
Make the Sweet Potato Filling
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- Mix Filling. In a medium mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, whip 5 ounces of room temperature cream cheese with a hand mixer or the paddle attachment. Once creamy, add 1 ¼ cups of sweet potato puree, ½ cup of light brown sugar, 2 teaspoons of all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon vanilla paste, 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, and ¼ ground cloves. Mix until well combined.
- Add Eggs. Add 2 room-temperature eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each egg is added. Scrape the sides of the bowl and make sure that all the filling is completely combined. Set aside.
Bake the Sweet Potato Tart
- Prep. Preheat your oven to 325°F (163°C) and grab your blind-baked tart shell. Transfer the sweet potato filling into your tart shell and smooth with an offset spatula or tamp the tart down on your counter to spread evenly.
- Bake Sweet Potato Tart. Place the tart onto the center of your oven’s middle rack at 325°F (163°C) for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the filling is set, puffed, and doesn’t jiggle when you move the pan.
- Cool and Serve. Remove the tart from the oven when done and allow to cool to room temperature in the tart pan on a wire rack. Once cooled, the tart should be refrigerated for at least 1 hour before topping with the meringue, if desired. You can also serve the tart as is with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream!
Make the Meringue Topping (Optional)
- Whip the Egg Whites. Use your stand mixer to whip 4 room temperature eggs at medium speed until they reach soft peaks, about 2 minutes. Then, gradually add in 1 cup of sugar, then ½ teaspoon of cream of tartar and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks are formed and it looks like marshmallow fluff.
- Test the Meringue. Test the texture of the meringue by rubbing a small portion between your fingers. Once you can no longer feel any graininess from the sugar, it is fully dissolved. Add ½ teaspoon of vanilla paste and continue whisking at high speed until the meringue is stiff and glossy.
- Top the Pie. Once the meringue is done, you can either spoon the meringue onto your tart and spread to the edges using a spatula or use a piping bag. If you’d like, you can use a kitchen torch to lightly brown the outside of the meringue.
My beautiful, indulgent sweet potato tart is the perfect dessert for this holiday season! Enjoy a slice just as is and be amazed at the incredible flavor!
💭 Tips & Notes
To cook the sweet potatoes, you can either boil or bake them!
- Boiling the sweet potatoes is easiest, but I highly recommend baking them whole at 350°F (175°C) for 1 to 1 ½ hours, or until the skins are pulling away from the sweet potatoes and they’re completely soft.
- Baking them helps to concentrate their flavor to make a more delicious pie! It also keeps the potatoes from taking on any extra moisture.
Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature for this recipe!
- If your ingredients are all at room temperature, they will combine more easily, and the filling will be less prone to cracking.
Blind baking the crust will help it to not get soggy!
- With a heavy, wet filling such as the one for this recipe, baking it in a raw crust would make it difficult for the crust to brown properly on the bottom and cook all the way through, so blind baking is a must!
Use fresh eggs for the best results when making the meringue!
- If you can get farm fresh eggs, this will give you the best result! If you can’t, just make sure you don’t use carton egg whites!
🥡 Storing
There’s no way you’ll have leftovers of this amazing sweet potato tart if you’re making it for a crowd! If you do happen to, you can store it in the fridge for to 2 to 4 days for the best flavor.
If you’d like, you can also make this tart ahead of time, and make the meringue the day of! In that case, it’s best kept in the fridge for no more than 2 days.
Freezing Sweet Potato Tart
You can also freeze a whole sweet potato tart! Just remember that the texture may not be the same as fresh—but it’ll still be tasty! Cover the cooled tart in plastic cling film and a layer of aluminum foil and it will keep for up to 3 months. Defrost in your fridge overnight whenever you’re ready to eat!
🎄 More Holiday Desserts
- Pecan Tartlets
- Christmas Cake
- Fruitcake Shortbread
- Jamaican Rum Cake
- Peanut Butter Pecan Cookies
- M&M Christmas Cookies
❓ Recipe FAQs
Sometimes sweet potatoes can have a lot of fibers, which can remain in pies or tarts after they’re baked. To prevent this, I recommend blending the sweet potatoes in the food processor or blender to break up the fibers so it’s a completely smooth filling!
Only if your crust begins to brown too much! If your oven runs hot and the crust begins to turn brown too quickly, loosely cover the pie with a sheet of aluminum foil to prevent it from burning.
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📖 Recipe Card
Sweet Potato Tart
Ingredients
Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
- ½ cup butter (unsalted - softened, at room temperature)
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 large egg (beaten)
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Sweet Potato Filling
- 5 oz cream cheese
- 1 ¼ cups sweet potato puree (cooked, peeled sweet potato)
- ½ cup light brown sugar (packed)
- 2 teaspoon all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste (or caviar of ½ vanilla bean, reserve the remaining half for the meringue)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 large eggs (at room temperature)
Marshmallow Meringue Topping (optional)
- 4 large egg whites (at room temperature)
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla paste
Instructions
Make the Pastry Dough
- These are condensed instructions, to see the full instructions with process photos, tips, and notes please visit the sweet shortcrust pastry recipe.
- In a large mixing bowl beat the butter until softened then add the sugar and continue until light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten egg and vanilla extract into the creamed butter and sugar.
- Combine the flour and salt in a small bowl, whisking to evenly distribute the salt. Add the flour and salt to the wet ingredients then combine until you have a rough, loose crumbled dough.
- Gather your dough into a ball and place it onto a sheet of cling film. Wrap and flatten into a disc, then refrigerate and chill for 30 minutes to an hour.
- Once the pastry dough is chilled, you can either fill your tart pan by hand (using your fingers to flatten and spread the pastry dough) or roll the tart dough out to fill the pan.
- Fill your tart pan and chill the dough for 30 minutes in the fridge (or 15 minutes in the freezer) while you preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Dock the chilled tart dough and bake with baking weights for 8-12 minutes.
Make the Sweet Potato Filling
- In a medium mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer whip the cream cheese with a hand mixer or the paddle attachment. Once creamy, add the sweet potato puree, light brown sugar, all-purpose flour, vanilla paste, ground cinnamon, and ground cloves. Mix until well combined.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each egg is added. Scrape the sides of the bowl and make sure that all of the filling is fully combined.
Bake the Sweet Potato Tart
- Preheat your oven to 325°F (163°C). Transfer the sweet potato filling into your blind-baked tart shell and smooth with an offset spatula or tamp the tart down on your counter to spread evenly.
- Bake in the center of your oven's middle rack at 325°F (163°C) for 40-45 minutes, or until the filling is set (and no longer jiggles if you move the pan).
- Remove from the oven when done and allow to cool to room temperature in the tart pan on a wire rack. Once cooled, the tart should be refrigerated for at least 1 hour before topping with meringue if desired. Or serve as is with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream.
Make the Meringue Topping (optional)
- Use your stand mixer to whip the egg whites at medium speed until they reach soft peaks, about 2 minutes. Gradually add in the sugar, then cream of tartar and salt. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks are formed.
- Test the texture of the meringue by rubbing a small portion between your fingers. Once you can no longer feel any graininess from the sugar, it is fully dissolved. Add the vanilla paste and continue whisking at high speed until the meringue is stiff and glossy.
- You can either spoon the meringue onto your tart and spread to the edges using a spatula, or use a piping bag.
Notes
- The tart can be topped with mini marshmallows after baking. Set your oven to broil and heat the mounded mini marshmallows for about 1-2 minutes, or until toasted and golden brown.
- The freshest eggs yield the best results when making meringue. If you can get your hands on farm fresh eggs, you'll have a delightfully fluffy meringue whipped up in no time.
- Do not use carton egg whites to make your meringue.
- Make your tart a day in advance and add the topping (meringue or marshmallows) before serving.
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