Carrot Cake Cheesecake

Carrot cake cheesecake is two desserts in one! Such an easy Spring dessert -- each batter is made in a bowl, and then layered together for a beautiful swirl effect!

I’m not sure if my husband’s love for carrot cake is because his birthday is in the Spring, or if he was just born a natural carrot cake lover.

Carrot cake abounds in our house during Springtime. We had a Spring wedding (yes, our wedding cake was 3 layers of carrot cake), and Easter was just around the corner—complete with another epically tall carrot cake piled high with cream cheese frosting. The cake stand always has carrot cake crumbs and a fluffy smear of cream cheese frosting on it in our house.

And while I’m happy to make my husband’s favorite dessert, if I mix it with my favorite dessert, cheesecake, we can enjoy it all year long!

Carrot Cake Cheesecake recipe:

If you’re new here, this is my 27th cheesecake recipe on my site! I adore cheesecake. It’s soft texture and creamy tangy taste win me over every time. I love everything about it, and I serve it very often for dinner party dessert, especially my raspberry white chocolate cheesecake.

I always have at least 3 packages of Philadelphia cream cheese in my fridge for a cheesecake craving. These no-bake cheesecake jars find their way into our fridge more often than I care to admit, and I’ve always got a loaf pan cheesecake in the freezer for emergencies!

A few notes about this carrot cake cheesecake. While I’m known for making perfect cheesecake that bakes up flat and doesn’t have a single crack, this recipe is a little different. Because we’re swirling carrot cake batter into the cheesecake in two layers, bubbles and puffs are to be expected. The last layer of cheesecake on top is smoothed flat to prevent this as much as possible, but if a bubble sneaks through, it will be covered by a sour cream sauce on top anyway.

How to swirl cheesecake with cake batter:

While a recipe that looks as fancy as this one seems complicated, it really is so simple! The cheesecake comes together in one bowl, and the carrot cake does too! Just mix them in separate bowls, and layer into the pan like this: carrot cake on the bottom, dollops of cheesecake on top (not mixed in), followed by the remaining carrot cake, and a generous layer of cheesecake on top. Smooth the final layer of cheesecake flat with a spatula to prevent cracks and bubbles as much as possible.

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Yield: 16 slices

Carrot Cake Cheesecake

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Carrot cake cheesecake swirled together in a 9" pan.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 58 minutes

Additional Time 6 hours

Total Time 7 hours 18 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 8-ounce packages of Philadelphia cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup sour cream, at room temperature
• For the carrot cake:
• ½ cup canola oil
• ⅔ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup, packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 cup freshly grated carrots
• Optional sour cream topping:
• 4 ounces Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• ½ cup sour cream, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a 9" pan with parchment paper, both on the bottoms and the sides (cut strips to line the sides).


2. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer on HIGH speed until light and creamy, about 60 seconds.


3. Next, slowly stream in the sugar and continue beating until combined.


4. Add the eggs, vanilla and sour cream; beat until blended. Set this mixture aside in a different bowl. Wipe out the bowl and use it for the cake batter.


5. Whisk together the oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar and eggs together in a bowl.

6. Gently sprinkle all remaining ingredients on top of the wet ingredients and stir to combine. Finally, stir in the grated carrots.

7. Now it’s time to layer the batters in the pan in this specific order: First, dollop half the carrot cake batter into the pan. Next, dollop half of the cheesecake mixture on top of it, not worrying about any gaps. Dollop the last half of the carrot cake mixture on top, and tap the pan on the counter 3 times. Finally, dollop the last of the cheesecake mixture on top evenly, and then spread it on top. Use an off-set spatula to spread the cheesecake mixture until it covers the entire surface. Having a final layer of cheesecake on top helps it bake up mostly flat.


8. Bake for 58 minutes, or until the top surface is dry to the touch. The cheesecake might puff up in the center and deflate as it cools.

9. Let the cheesecake cool to room temperature on a cooling rack for 1 hour, then refrigerate it for at least 6 hours.

10. Before serving, make the sour cream topping: beat together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, sour cream and vanilla extract until fluffy. Spread this mixture on top of the cheesecake.

11. To serve, pull the cheesecake out of the pan using the parchment paper, and slice into 16 equal pieces.

Notes

You can bake this in a 9" springform pan, just spray it with cooking spray before using, and omit the parchment paper. The directions here are for a 9" regular cake pan, because I've found that people are more likely to have that in their kitchen.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Nordic Ware Leakproof Springform Pan, 9 Inch
• 
  Round Cake Pan, 9 inch, Nonstick
• 
  Cuisinart Handheld Mixer with Storage Case, White

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

16

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 369Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 91mgSodium: 229mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 1gSugar: 27gProtein: 5g

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