Carrot Cake Cheesecake Recipes

Some times you feel like a cheesecake and some times you feel like a carrot cake but if you want both cakes at the same time, you need some carrot cake cheesecake recipes.

Best of Both Worlds

Cheesecake is a delightful treat. The creamy texture and slightly tart sweetness is the perfect way to end a meal or celebrate a special occasion. The variety of cheesecake recipes are seemingly endless from a good basic cheesecake to the very Italian ricotta cheesecake. Cheesecakes also have every topping variation you could imagine from cinnamon baked apples to preserved cherries.

Carrot cake, at first, seems a bit unusual because you are making a pastry with a root vegetable. In fact, other than zucchini bread, I can't really think of many baked goods that call for vegetables. But it makes sense once you discover the history of the carrot cake.

Early on in the history of Europe, sugar was an insanely expensive commodity and was rarely available to the masses. In order to sweeten cakes, people looked for the sweetest ingredients available and carrots, which are the second sweetest vegetable (sugar beets have the most sugar, hence the name), were always at hand. So it makes sense that carrots would be used to sweeten a cake. Carrot cake is usually topped with a cream cheese-based icing and it was only a matter of time that someone decided to top a carrot cake with cheesecake, which is also usually made with cream cheese.

Carrot Cake Cheesecake Recipes

I have seen many carrot cake cheesecake recipes that don't use a crust at all and in a way I can see why. The carrot cake part goes on the bottom and, technically, carrot cakes don't need a crust. But since part of the recipe is cheesecake, which has a graham cracker crust, I like to use a graham cracker crust for this cake. Along the same lines, many carrot cake cheesecake recipes don't call for a frosting, but carrot cakes usually have a cream cheese frosting. So, although it may seem redundant to frost a cheesecake with cream cheese, I like to add a frosting to this recipe.

Generally, I advise people to avoid using a spring form pan for baking but, in this case, it is necessary. You will need a 9-inch spring form pan that is at least two inches tall. Ordinarily, I would suggest baking your cheesecake in a water bath to prevent cracking but the moisture of the carrot cake helps to keep the cheesecake part from cracking or cooking unevenly. I still suggest cooking the cake on a sheet pan or cookie sheet just in case the spring form pan leaks.

Crust

Ingredients

• 1 cup of graham crackers, crushed fine
• 3 tablespoons of sugar
• ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons of butter, melted

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray the bottom and sides of the assembled pan with non-stick spray. It would help to cut a round of parchment paper to the size of the bottom of the pan and line the bottom of the pan with the round. It's not necessary but, in the long run, helpful.
3. Mix everything together well.
4. Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan.
5. Bake the crust for ten minutes then remove from the oven and let cool.

Cheesecake Part

Ingredients

• 16 ounces of cream cheese, brought to room temperature
• ¾ cup of sugar
• 2 ½ teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 2 ½ ounces of heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon of flour
• 4 egg yolks

Instructions

1. Using your stand mixer, beat the cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar until smooth.
2. Add the cream.
3. Add the flour.
4. Add the egg yolks.
5. Beat until smooth.
6. Transfer to a bowl.

Carrot Cake Part

Ingredients

• ¾ cup of vegetable oil
• 1 cup of sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup of flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg
• 1 8-ounce can of crushed pineapple (juice packed, save the juice)
• 1 cup of finely grated carrots
• ½ cup of unsweetened shredded coconut
• ½ cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Using your stand mixer, mix together the oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract until well combined.
3. Mix in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg and mix until well combined.
4. Turn off the mixer and add, by hand, the pineapple, carrots, coconut, and walnuts.
5. Pour 1 ½ cup of the carrot cake mix into the prepared pan.
6. Spread evenly.
7. Pour almost all of the cheesecake mix over the carrot cake mix. Reserve about a cup.
8. Using a tablespoon, drop spoonfuls of the remaining carrot cake mix over the cheesecake.
9. Using a tablespoon, drop spoonfuls of the remaining cheesecake mix over the carrot cake drops.
10. Bake the cake for 50 to 65 minutes or until the cake tests as done.
11. Remove the cake and let it cool to room temperature.
12. Do not take the cake out of the pan.
13. Place the cake, pan and all, into your refrigerator and let chill, about two hours.
14. Once the cake is thoroughly chilled remove from the pan.

Icing

Ingredients

• 2 ounces of cream cheese
• 1 ¾ cup of confectioner's sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon of the saved pineapple juice (if desired)

Instructions

1. Beat everything in your stand mixer until smooth.
2. You can add water to adjust the consistency.
3. Spread over the cake.
4. Once your cake is frosted, you can decorate it any way you like.