Carrot Cake Cheesecake

If you want to win the spring buffet table, you need to combine the two best desserts on earth. I’m talking about Carrot Cake Cheesecake, of course! My version is easy–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.

Regardless, 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. The cake stand in our house nearly always has carrot cake crumbs and a fluffy smear of cream cheese frosting on it.

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 cream cheesein 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!

Ingredients

Do not be scared by the long list of ingredients–we use many of them several times in different layers!

Cheesecake Layer:

• Cream Cheese. Two 8-ounce packages of full-fat, regular cream cheese, softened to room temperature. If the cream cheese is cool or cold, it will form lumps that you cannot beat out of your batter. Dice it up, and leave it at room temperature for a few hours to ensure it’s warm. And send the food safety police to me, I’ll handle them. (I’ll feed them lumpy cheesecake).
• Granulated Sugar. We only need 1/2 cup of granulated sugar of the cheesecake layer, because the carrot cake layer is so sweet.
• Eggs. Two eggs, also at room temperature so that don’t make the cream cheese cold when beating.
• Vanilla. One teaspoon of pure vanilla extract.
• Sour Cream. One-half cup of sour cream, also room temperature.

Carrot Cake Layer:

• Oil. The base of our carrot cake is 1/2 cup of any neutral oil, like canola oil, grapeseed oil, or vegetable oil. Any neutral oil without flavor is great! Do not use coconut oil or olive oil.
• Granulated Sugar. We need 2/3 cup of granulated sugar.
• Brown Sugar. Just 1/4 cup of light brown sugar.
• Eggs. An additional two large eggs.
• Vanilla. Another 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
• Flour. For the cake layer, one a one-quarter cups of all-purpose flour. Please make sure you are fluffing the flour, lightly scooping and leveling off the flour (no packing!)
• Baking Soda and Baking Powder. Equal parts (1/2 teaspoon) of baking soda and baking powder. Carrot cake can be dense, so do not skip the leavening agents!
• Cinnamon. One teaspoon ground cinnamon for the classic carrot cake cheesecake flavor.
• Nutmeg. I like to add 1/2 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg to the batter, but pre-ground is fine.
• Ginger. One-half teaspoon of ground ginger in carrot cake brings warmth and spice! Don’t skip it!
• Carrots. My plea is this: grate your own carrots. Please do not buy pre-shredded carrots because they lack moisture! Please wash, peel and grate your own carrots for this carrot cake cheesecake, I beg you! You need 1 cup of grated carrots, which is about 2 medium carrots.

Sour Cream Topping

• Cream Cheese. Oops, we need another 4 ounces of cream cheese for the sour cream topping. Please don’t be mad (you won’t be once you taste it). Soften it on the counter to room temperature.
• Powdered Sugar. One cup of powdered sugar.
• Sour Cream. When you put the cream cheese out to soften, also measure out 1/2 cup of sour cream to come to room temperature also.
• Vanilla. One teaspoon of real vanilla extract.

How to Make Carrot Cake Cheesecake

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.

1.  Preheat the oven to 350F and line a 9″ pan with parchment paper all over. Cut strips to line the sides. This carrot cake cheesecake is dense and heavy, so I want it to come out of the pan very easily for you! (You can use a 9-inch springform pan and omit the parchment paper step, but please spray it with cooking spray first).

Recipe Notes

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.

You can bake this carrot cake cheesecake in a 9-inch regular cake pan that is sprayed with cooking spray and lined very well with parchment paper all around (including the sides). Or, you may bake this in a 9-inch springform pan for an easier removal process. Be sure to spray the springform pan with cooking spray, but is not necessary to line it with parchment paper.