Carrot Cake Cheesecake
This Carrot Cake Cheesecake combines two of my favorite desserts: Carrot Cake, and Cheesecake. Swirls of fluffy carrot cake and creamy cheesecake get baked together to form this stunning treat. The cheesecake is topped with Cream Cheese Frosting and Caramelized Pecans.
This dessert is perfect to be served for Easter, or during a cozy Fall day. In my opinion, it can be made any time of the year, because there’s always room for Carrot Cake and Cheesecake in my life!
Check out the layers of carrot cake, and cheesecake, that come together in a perfect mixture of texture and flavors.
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Carrot Cake Cheesecake Cake Recipe
I will show you step-by-step how to make this wonderful recipe. The full ingredients list is on the end of the page.
Let’s start by lining the pan with parchment paper. You can use a 8-inch or 9-inch springform pan. I am using an 8″ springform pan by Fat Daddio, it’s my favorite cheesecake pan.
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Place a sheet of parchment paper on top of the pan. Cut slits from the edges of the paper to where it meets the pan. I like to cut at least one slit from the corners of the paper, and then one or two on each side.
Then carefully place the paper inside the pan, if the paper is creasing in any areas, just use the scissors to cut another slit wherever there’s a crease. Trim the excess paper on top by cutting it along the edges of the pan.
Spray oil in the pan and the parchment will sort of stick to the sides of the pan.
Cut two strips of parchment paper about the same height as the pan. Spray a bit more cooking spray in the parchment paper and place the strips along the sides of the pan. They should overlap slightly.
Carrot Cake Recipe
Let’s make the carrot cake batter for the cake layer.
Whisk the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together. Set it aside.
In a mixing bowl, whisk the oil, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla together. You can also use an electric mixer to do this.
Pour the flour mixture into the bowl with the mixed wet ingredients. Mix to combine. Once the ingredients are almost entirely incorporated, add the shredded carrots and fold with a spatula.
Set it aside.
Cheesecake Layer
On a separate bowl, add the cream cheese, and beat for one minute, until creamy. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix briefly.
Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and beat for another minute, until incorporated and creamy.
Then, add the sour cream and mix.
Add the eggs, one at a time, waiting for one egg to be incorporated before adding the next one.
Along with the final egg, add the vanilla extract, and the salt.
Assemble the Cheesecake
To assemble the cheesecake, pour one third of the carrot cake batter on the bottom of the pan.
Top with one third of the cheesecake mixture. Continue to do this, alternating one third of the cake and cheesecake batters until you are out of batter.
Bake the cheesecake in the oven for about 50 minutes. Baking time will vary depending on your oven. The center of the cheesecake should still be jiggly, while the edges will be set. If a toothpick is inserted into the cake part, it should come out clean.
Turn the oven off and prop the door open. Then let the cheesecake sit in the oven for 20 minutes. This will prevent the cheesecake from deflating and sinking.
Remove the cheesecake from the oven and let it cool down before placing in the fridge overnight.
Caramelized Pecans
The caramelized pecans are optional but they will certainly elevate your wonderful cheesecake.
Place the brown sugar and butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Once they start to melt together, add the caramelized pecans, and stir to combine. Cook the pecans until they are caramelized and toasty, for about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat, place the nuts in a baking sheet or plate, and let them cool down.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Beat the cream cheese and butter together. Add the powdered sugar and beat to combine.
Mix in the vanilla.
To decorate
To decorate the cheesecake, spread dollops of cream cheese frosting on top of the cooled cheesecake. Use a spatula to smooth it out.
Sprinkle the caramelized pecans on top, and serve.
Water bath
I have tried making this recipe a few times. I tried using a water bath, or layering the batters in different ways. The water bath made the cake soggy every time. And the cheesecake still cracked with the water bath, and that’s because of the cake being there.
Another way people usually make this type of Carrot Cake Cheesecake is by baking the carrot cake first, and then adding the cheesecake batter on top and baking it again. This will certainly make the cake dry, so I don’t like that method.
I came to accept the fact that this cheesecake will look a bit more rustic, and crack a bit on top due to the cake being layered with the cheesecake batter. But I still think it looked beautiful, and I also loved that we get to cover the cheesecake with the cream cheese frosting and beautiful caramelized pecans, which will help with the presentation of the dessert.
Tips for making Carrot Cake Cheesecake
- Make sure the ingredients such as eggs, cream cheese, butter, and sour cream used in the various stages of this recipe are at room temperature.
- Once you add the flour mixture to the carrot cake batter, only stir minimally to combine. Avoid over mixing, to prevent the carrot cake layers from being dry.
- Once you add the eggs, don’t over mix the cheesecake batter.
- If the cheesecake is browning too much on top, and around the edges, but the middle is still too soft and jiggly, cover the pan with foil. Just make sure the foil isn’t directly touching the surface of the cheesecake, or it will stick.
- Only remove the ring of the cheesecake pan once the cake is done chilling in the fridge.
If you like this Carrot Cake Cheesecake, here are some more recipes you might enjoy:
- Caramel Cheesecake
- Biscoff Cheesecake
- Pistachio Cheesecake
- Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
- Baklava Cheesecake
- Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake
- Crème Brûlée Cheesecake
I absolutely loved making this recipe, even though it took me a few tries to get it right! I hope you love it as well. If you make it, leave a comment below, or tag me on instagram, I love seeing your creations!
Carrot Cake Cheesecake
Ingredients
Carrot Cake
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 159 grams
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil 120 ml
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar 100 grams
- 1/2 cup brown sugar 110 grams
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cup peeled and grated carrots 150 grams
Cheesecake Batter
- 2 cups cream cheese softened (453 grams)
- 1/3 cup brown sugar 73 grams
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar 66 grams
- 1/4 cup sour cream 60 grams
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
Caramelized Pecans
- 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1/3 cup cream cheese softened (75 grams)
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter 38 grams
- 1 cup powdered sugar 125 grams
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line the bottom of an 8-inch or 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. If using an 8" pan, make sure it's at least 3" tall. Check the pictures above in the post, to see how I line the pan with the parchment. Grease the pan and parchment with spray oil.
Carrot Cake
- To a mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk and set it aside.
- To a large bowl, add the vegetable oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract.
- Whisk the ingredients until incorporated. You can also use a hand mixer, or a stand mixer and mix on medium speed.
- Add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix on low with the mixer or whisk to combine. Once the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients are almost entirely incorporated, add the shredded carrots to the bowl. Fold with a spatula to combine.
- Set it aside.
Cheesecake Batter
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese for 1 minute. You can use a hand mixer, or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
- Add the granulated and the brown sugar to the bowl with the cream cheese. Beat to combine for another minute. Scrape the bowl and beat for another 30 seconds.
- Add the sour cream and mix to combine.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until incorporated before adding the next egg. You can add the vanilla and the salt along with the last egg.
- Mix to combine.
To assemble
- Pour one third of the carrot cake batter on the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Pour one third of the cheesecake batter right on top, in the center of the pan.
- Then, pour another third of the carrot cake batter on top.
- Follow with another third of the cheesecake batter.
- Pour the rest of the carrot cake batter, and then finish with the remaining cheesecake batter.
- Bake the cheesecake in the oven for about 50 minutes, until the center is just slightly jiggly, but the edges are set. If the cheesecake isn’t done baking in the center yet, but the edges are browning too much, you can cover the pan with foil to prevent any further browning. Just make sure the foil isn’t touching the cheesecake on top.
- Turn the oven off, prop the door open and leave the cheesecake inside for another 20 minutes. This will prevent the cheesecake from deflating and sinking.
- Remove the cheesecake from the oven. Let it cool down completely, then place it in the fridge overnight, or for at least 6 hours.
- Don’t remove the ring from the pan until the cheesecake is done chilling in the fridge.
Caramelized Pecans
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the sugar and the butter. Once the sugar and butter start melting, add the chopped pecans. Stir to combine.
- Continue to stir while the mixture cooks for about 4 minutes. The pecans will start to toast and become caramelized with the sugar and butter.
- Remove the pan from the heat.
- Pour the nuts on a baking sheet or plate lined with parchment paper. Let them cool down.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Beat the cream cheese and butter with a mixer in a medium bowl for 30 seconds.
- Add the powdered sugar, mix on low until combined, then raise the speed to medium-high, and beat for another minute.
- Add the vanilla and mix to combine.
To decorate
- Remove the cheesecake from the refrigerator. Remove the ring, and remove the parchment paper.
- Spread the Cream Cheese Frosting on top of the chilled cheesecake. Use a spatula to smooth out the frosting.
- Top with the caramelized pecans.
If using a box mix will it just be one box?
yes
Hi! I absolutely loved your cinnamon roll cheesecake. Do you think some of the cinnamon swirl topping could be swirled into this as well and taste/come out okay? Maybe 1/3?
Additionally that light whipped cream cheese frosting was delicious on it! Do you think that will taste good on this, or that this frosting complements the carrot cake cheesecake better? Thank you!! Happy Easter!
Yes you could definitely do that with the swirl topping! That’s a great idea.
And I think the light whipped frosting would be great on this too, I just prefer the actual frosting because this cheesecake is not as rich as the cinnamon roll one, because it has cake. But that’s just a personal preference. You can definitely use either of them.
Thanks for writing!
Happy Easter!
I followed the directions step by step, but my carrot cake was raw batter in the entirety of the middle. It was strange because the cheesecake set up nicely in the middle but the cake below didn’t cook at all. From what I could taste it was great but the middle was inedible.
You just had to bake longer, that’s all.
Hello, is the cheescake baked regularly or water bathed? Thank you in advance
no water bath, or it will become soggy.
Made today. The recipe was so easy to follow. My cheesecake batter came out really runny however. Not sure what caused this. I used block cream cheese at room temp. The taste of everything is amazing though! So I’m sure after a few attempts it will be perfect. The cheesecake is cooling now before the fridge! Looks great, the top didn’t brown as much as expected.
How long did you beat the cream cheese? other than not using block cream cheese, the other thing I can think of would be beating the cream cheese too long because if you beat cream cheese for too long, it will separate, and release water and become liquidy. Or if the cream cheese was left out too long before you started making the recipe, so it became too soft.
I just made this and the cheesecake layer was soooo liquid I couldn’t form layers. Any reason why this happened?
did you use the cream cheese blocks, or the spreadable cream cheese?
Hey,
In Germany we only have spreadable cream cheese do you think this would be a problem?
Thank you in advance!
Spreadable cream cheese usually wont work. Doing a quick google search and on reddit showed me you can get something called Frischkäse which will work well for cheesecake recipes.
Thank you! I was also not sure what to us in Germany instead of cream cheese. I will try with Frischkäse 🙂
Oh yes spreadable, didn’t know there was a hard type we only have spreadable in the uk. Still delicious recipe
Hey!
Thank you for sharing this recipe!🤍
Could you please share the oven setting?
I don’t know what is the best ( fan, top and bottom without fan , top and bottom with fan or bottom only .. etc )
Thank you in advance!
That really depends on your oven. If baking with a fan, you want to reduce temperature to 325F. How do you usually bake cakes in the oven?
I think standard for convection oven would be to bake with bottom and top heat together, or fan assisted, to make the cake cook evenly all around, but making sure to reduce the temperature to 325.
Let me know if it works! Thank you
Does it have to be in the fridge for 6 hours at minimum? I’m wondering if I could take it out 2 hours earlier (total 4 hours of fridge time). I’m excited to try it!! Made it for my boyfriend’s birthday and it’s currently in the fridge now!!
I think 4 hours might be enough if youre in a pinch for time. Touch the top and see if it’s firm. If it’s firm, you should be good.
hi, how did the cake turn out? i never tried to bake a carrot cake and im trying to know how this recipe turned out to other people
thank u in advance!
Could you use the carrot cake box cake mix with this recipe??
yes you can
Hello, first of all thank you for the delicious recipes you shared with us, I made a lot of your recipes and they turn out good to me, and the opinions are also excellent, but my question about the carrot cheesecake recipe is, can we replace the eggs in the cheesecake layer with anything else?
Sorry, no substitution for the eggs! Thank you 🙂
How big is the pan you used?
it’s a fat daddio 8″ which is a bit deeper, it’s 3″. If not using a deep 8″, you have to use a regular 9″ pan.
This looks delicious! Can’t wait to make this for my mom! Can you use the same method with red velvet cake?
I am sure you can. That’d actually be an amazing idea, I have to try.
Can the cheesecake be cooked in the instant pot instead of the oven? I’ve had great success with traditional cheesecake that way in the past.
If the pan is big enough to fit the batter, then I don’t see why not.
Oooo, I’m excited to try this! I love carrot cake. I have made your biscoff cheesecake on several occasions and it had rave reviews. This might be my new cheesecake 🙂
I hope you like it!!!!
Hello, do you know another name for the sour cream. I think in Spain has another name but i couldn’t find It. Please answer this question 😉
Hi there, I’ve done some research here and I’ve found it by the names: Panna Acida, or Crema Agria. Some people use creme fraiche in place of sour cream. So you can also do that.
However, if I couldn’t find the crema agria or panna acida I’d just use full fat unsweetened yogurt, it works fine for this recipe.
Hi! I’m in Spain as well and had the same problem, but did the cake yesterday using creme fraiche – I found it in Carrefour – and it worked great 😀 Good luck with baking!
Amazing thank you!!!!
You can use greek yogurt too.
Que receita deliciosa! Excelente ideia para a Páscoa! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
If I were to use my own carrot cake recipe which includes oil and applesauce will it change the outcome of the cheesecake ?
You can make your own carrot cake. This is just a standard carrot cake recipe, but if yours had oil and apple sauce, it should work as well.
Can I use box mix for the cake part?
yes you can
What’s the temperature?
Hi can you make this with red velvet cake mix? Thanks in advance!
sure i dont see why not.