Our latest obsession with carrot cake is this cheesecake that comes from the Cheesecake Factory. My best friend introduced it to us this year and I have to admit that we have since made special trips there just to get a slice!
Every year, Ben requests Carrot Cake for his birthday. This year, I wanted to surprise him with a homemade version of our new-found love. After searching the internet, I kept coming across this same version of supposedly a copycat recipe from Cheesecake Factory. I can't say it's an exact match, but it is really really good.
Why not an exact match? It's been a few months since we've had it, but I think in the restaurant version, the cheesecake is only in the middle of the carrot cake. In this recipe, there are two layers of cheesecake, one being the top. Next time I make this, and there will be a next time, I think I'll play with it a little and try layering the cheesecake only in the middle resulting with thicker cake layers on top and bottom.
Don't get me wrong, this recipe is great as listed below and if my tinkering with it doesn't work in the future, I'll just keep making it as we had it the other night. I also left the cream cheese frosting off (crazy, I know!) but I just couldn't justify the extra calories after such a big intake this past week. Even though I met my pre-baby weight goal last week, I added a lot of it back on with our friends visiting and Ben's birthday. I mean, it has NOTHING to do with it being the fall season and me wanting to eat pumpkin treats every day... right? 😉
Although the recipe may look intimidating and long, this actually is really simple to put together. You are basically just whipping up two cake batters (one carrot cake and one cheese cake) then layering them together in a springform pan. No water bath needed!
Carrot Cake Cheesecake
Yield: 6 - 8 servings
For the cheesecake:
16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon flour
3 eggs
For the carrot cake:
3/4 cup veggie oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
8 oz can crushed pineapple, packed in 100% juice, drained well, reserve juice
1 cup grated carrots
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
For the Pineapple Cream Cheese Frosting:
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon reserved pineapple juice
Preheat oven to 350˚F and grease a 9- or 9 1/2- inch springform pan.
For the cheesecake batter, in a large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Mix in the flour, eggs and vanilla until fully incorporated and no lumps remain. Set aside.
To prepare the carrot cake batter, combine the oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and spices. Stir into the egg mixture and mix well. Add the pineapple, carrots, coconut and walnuts. Stir until just combined.
To assemble the cheesecake, pour 1 1/2 cups of the carrot cake batter over the bottom of the prepared pan. Drop spoonfuls of the cream cheese batter over the bottom layer of carrot cake, using up 1/4 of the batter and reserving the rest for the top layer. Top with large spoonfuls of remaining carrot cake batter. Repeat with remaining cream cheese batter, spreading evenly with a knife.
Bake for 50 to 65 minutes or until cake is set and cooked through. Cool completely, then cover and refrigerate. When the cake is cold, prepare the Pineapple Cream Cheese frosting.
Pineapple Cream Cheese Frosting:
Using an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, butter, sugar, vanilla and pineapple juice. Beat until smooth. Add additional juice or sugar to desired spreading consistency. Frost the top of the cheesecake. Refrigerate 3 to 4 hours before serving.
Source: CD Kitchen
ingrid says
Yum! I love these kinds of desserts! Two for one. The best of both worlds, yada-yada! 🙂
Happy Friday!
~ingrid
KeepItSweet says
this recipe just makes so much sense since carrot cake with cream cheese icing has a similar profile... great idea
Lauren says
Oh. My. Gosh. This looks FABULOUS! You've managed to combine both of my favorite rich desserts into one amazing cake. Awesome :).
Jenny says
This looks amazing! Just an FYI - I got him from foodgawker - but the link took me to your 2009 post about carrot cake - of course I hit home on your site and got to this recipe - but it might be a little confusing. I have to check out the rest of your site.
Pennies on a Platter says
Jenny! It appears I copied the wrong link! Thanks for the heads up!
Jessica Mumford says
Looks delicious. I have just started following your site a bit back and have loved all your recipes! Keep up the great work!
[email protected] says
I just bought a bag of carrots at the store today. Perfect timing. Is there anything I can use instead of canned pineapple? Does the pineapple leave chunks in the cake?
Pennies on a Platter says
Jenn - You really don't even notice the pineapple in there because, no, they are not chunky. I'm sure you'd be fine just leaving it out, but I would advise to give it try because it helps keep the cake moist. 🙂
darlene says
I'm with the original request about leaving out the pineapple, do you think a 1/2c of coconut milk would work?
Nikki says
I really have no idea and the best way to know is to give it a try. 🙂
Anonymous says
faboulus!
and so delicious... uch!
carrot cheesecake... yes. that's this!
Sue says
I made this tonight, tasty, but not enough cheesecake for me. It was 2/3 carrot 1/3 cheesecake and I was hoping for 50-50. What a great idea!!!!!
Pennies on a Platter says
Sue, that's so funny because I was wanting the opposite, more carrot cake! 🙂
-Nikki
Sue says
OK, so I've always known my oven had a slight slant. But I had a piece from the other side of the cake today and it was too MUCH cheesecake!! So the recipe is probably right on for my tastes, if my oven didn't slosh all the cheesecake to one side!!!!! ; )
ErinsFoodFiles says
Hello! I was doing some stumbling and it brought me here! I love it when it takes me to a blogger I know, but I post I must have missed. 🙂 This cake is LOVELY! Looks delicious!! I very rarely go to Cheesecake Factory, but I once had a copycat cake requested of their Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake. Here's my version of it if you're interested. It sounds very similar to the Carrot Cake version you described.
Jay Renna says
All I can say is that I made this cheesecake for people at work... they loved it! I baked mine for a full hour. When I made the second one, I used a light graham cracker crust, and it made the rim crust a bit lighter. So I may do that again. Thanks for the recipe!
Jay Renna says
I see some people said that they wanted more carrot cake or cheesecake. I just see that it depends on the slice. You could make the cheesecake with all the carrot cake batter between the two layers of cheesecake batter on the outside. It still mixed very well. Just a suggestion!
Nikki says
Jay, I'm so glad you liked it! Thanks for leaving your suggestion, too. 🙂
Brandy says
I can't wait to try this one out....you have some GREAT recipes and I am anxious to get to baking!!! 🙂
Brandy
Nikki says
Thanks, Brandy! 🙂
Charlene Garrett says
Hey,
This recipe sounds great, except for the coconut. I am allergic to it is there anyway to leave it out? Other then that I plan on making it tomorrow for my Husband he love Carrot Cake and I love Cheesecake so i was thing best of both worlds. Please let me know about the coconut.
Nikki says
Hi Charlene, Yes, I believe you can just leave the coconut out without affecting the results. 🙂
Sarah says
Sounds good, I am invited to the party, I am going to make this Cake, I just have no idea when do you take the cake out of the pan.
Nikki says
Hi Sarah, Remove the cake from the springform just before serving. 🙂 (I just keep the bottom of the springform pan attached.)
Culinary Favorites From A to Z says
My husband had carrot cake cheesecake at a restaurant last night for the first time ever. I'd never even heard of it before. Thanks for sharing this recipe and your experience; I'm sharing it on my Facebook page, Culinary Favorites.
nettie moore says
Carrot cake with deliciousness...looks fabulous! Nettie
Jaime says
I made this for Easter dessert and it is absolutely delicious! The cake is super moist and the cake/cheesecake ratio is perfect. I baked mine for 1 hour 15 minutes but my oven may be off a tad in temperature. Great recipe!! 🙂
Rose says
I stumbled upon your post while searching for carrot cake and I'm so glad I did! I wanted to bake my dad a carrot cake for his birthday, they are his favorites! He also loves cheesecake.. So when I saw this post, I couldn't be happier. I do a lot of baking and had most of the ingredients at home. I wouldn't say it's the quickest thing I've made but the efforts and wait are sure worth it. I'm so happy with the way the cheesecake came out in the end. Love it and will definitely be making it again soon. Thank you so much 🙂
Jackie says
Hi Nikki
What other ingredient can I replace the nuts with.
Nikki says
You can just leave out the nuts. 🙂
Emma Rae says
I'm making this sometime over the weekend but I don't have a spring form pan. Is there any other pan I can make it in? This sounds so delicious.
Nikki says
A springform is much easier to work with and allows you to release the cake to show off the sides. That said, you do not have to use a springform to make cheesecake. 🙂 For this particular cheesecake, I have never used anything but a springform, however, you should be find using a 9x9 square baking pan and grease it well. (I recommend Baker's Joy spray.) Again, I haven't used a different pan for this recipe, though, so I can't promise perfect results.
Jelli says
Made this yesterday for a friend's birthday. I only layered the carrot cake on the bottom and cheesecake on top with a slight marbling. Loved how you could taste both cakes individually if you wanted, or grab a hearty forkful of both. Delish! Thanks so much for the recipe.
Sarah Lee says
I just baked this and it looks\smells deeeeelicious! I'm a sucker for chocolate so I did add some bittersweet choc chips 🙂 can't wait to try it tonight! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Michelle says
Can you Just layer carrot, cheesecake, carrot? Or vice versa? Or should we layer like you said by dropping spoon fulls? Thanks!
Nikki Gladd says
It would be difficult to spread, so dropping spoonfuls is best. 🙂
Anonymous says
Thanks! I just layered as you directed and it's in the oven now! Smells delicious & can't wait to try.
Bev Ard says
I love Cheese Cake Factory, your carrot cake is yummy. I was wondering if you would have their pineapple upside down cheese cake recipe.It is wonderful. If you do could you email me the recipe or post on Pinterest
Nikki Gladd says
Hi Bev,
I do not. Sorry!
Heather says
This was an awesome combination and my family really liked this! There were a lot of ingredients but overall it was a pretty easy recipie. We will definitely be making this again!
Anonymous says
How do I get the carrot cake to rise higher than the cheesecake around the edges like it looks in the picture? Put more batter around the edges than cheesecake?
Nikki Gladd says
Hi! You don't need to do anything special. This is how it rises naturally for me.
Don says
How do I get the carrot cake to rise above the cheesecake around the outside as it looks in the picture? Do I put more carrot cake around the outer edge than cheesecake?
Nikki Gladd says
Hi Don! I'm not sure you saw my response when you asked above. There is nothing special you do to make it bake up that way. It should just do it naturally. Hope this helps! Thanks!