Easy and Impressive Carrot Cake Cheesecake
This carrot cake cheesecake is the combination of two favorite desserts- carrot cake and cheesecake! It’s a beautiful show stopper dessert that is actually fairly easy to make, especially when you want to impress without the fuss. Creamy cheesecake is layered on top of a spiced carrot cake and then baked together over a cookie crust. It’s perfect as an Easter or spring dessert, or anytime you need an easy make ahead cake.
I werrrrrked on this recipe for you for real.
After making a lot of carrot cake inspired recipes lately (like these carrot cake cupcakes and these carrot cake muffins) I had an idea to make a carrot cake cheesecake. I wanted it to really be a combination of both recipes and not lean too heavily on to one side.
The first time I made it I swirled the batter- big mistake! The ratio of carrot cake to cheesecake was totally off and I was left with an over baked cheese layer and an underbaked cake layer. I was super disappointed and spent a while troubleshooting why that happened (batters didn’t swirl well, and cake batter was too thin) and what to do next.
The next time I tested it, I thickened the cake layer, doubled the cheesecake part, and layered the batters instead (no swirl!).
Success! Both layers baked perfectly and you can really see and taste both flavors and textures.
Thick, creamy, vanilla cheesecake is layered in between a cinnamon spiced carrot cake giving you the best of both desserts combined into one. It does take a little bit longer than a traditional cake recipe but it’s not hard to do at all.
Oh and the best part- it has a cookie butter crust! I absolutely am obsessed (as a human and as a trained pastry chef) with cookie butter so instead of the classic graham cracker crumbs, I crushed up Lotus cookies and made it into the crust. It gives the cake an extra layer of flavor and goes so incredibly well with the warm spiced carrot cake.
But wait! Theres more! I decorated it with this cream cheese frosting (I halved the recipe) and some more cookies- seriously this is a masterpiece!
Lemme show you how I made it!
Prep the ingredients
You’ll need shredded carrots + pulverized cookies for this recipe. The easiest and quickest way to do this is with a food processor. If you don’t want to pull it out for this recipe then you can grate your own carrots with a box grater and crush the cookies with a rolling pin inside a plastic bag.
You 100% want to shred your own carrots.
You only need 2 so its not a lot of hand work if you are using the grater. The carrots act like a wet ingredient so it’s best to shred your own. The pre-shredded ones from the store are dry and crunchy and wont give you the moisture or texture you want.
I have a mini food processor that I use for recipes like this, its small, cute, and easy to use and clean!
Are you drooling yet? I might have to go grab a piece right now!
Making ahead
If you are making this for company and have lots to do, you can make this up to 3 days ahead and keep in the fridge. I would bake the cheesecake but not decorate it until the day you are serving.
When you store the cheesecake make sure to put plastic wrap touching the top of it so that condensation doesnt make it watery.
Easy and Impressive Carrot Cake Cheesecake
Ingredients
Cookie Crust
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 30 Lotus cookies, crushed
Carrot cake batter
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg white , save the yolk for the cheesecake
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup carrots, 2 medium-large peeled and shredded carrots
Cheesecake batter
- 16 oz cream cheese, 2 blocks
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 egg yolk, large
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and take out and spray or line a springform pan.
- In a microwavable safe, medium size bowl, melt the 4 tbsp butter. Pulverize the 30 cookies in a food processor or with a rolling pin in a plastic bag.
- Add the crushed cookies to the butter and mix well till combined.
- Press the cookie mixture onto the bottom and up the sides of the springform pan as evenly as possible. A 1/3 cup measuring cup can help press it in well.
- Bake the crust for 8 minutes. Cool
- Wipe out the bowl or use another. Melt the 1/2 cup butter in the microwave, 30 seconds at a time until fully melted. Add the 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1 egg, 1 egg white (saving the extra egg yolk for the cheesecake batter), and the 1 tbsp vanilla to the bowl and whisk well.
- Add in the 1 1/4 cup flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp kosher salt, and 1 tsp cinnamon to the bowl and mix just until combined. Add in the 1 cup shredded carrots to combine and set aside to make the cheesecake batter.
- In another bowl add 16oz (2 blocks )softened cream cheese, 2/3 cup sugar, the egg yolk, 1 tsp vanilla, and 2 tbsp flour. Cream with a whisk or use a hand mixer on low speed till creamy and uniform.
- Layer 1 cup of the carrot cake batter on the bottom of the crust as evenly as possible. Dollop half of the cheesecake mixture over the carrot cake using a large spoon or an ice cream scoop. Smooth the rest of the cake batter on top, over the cheesecake dollops and in between. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just do your best.
- Layer on the last layer of cheesecake as evenly as possible.
- Take a 9×13” or a loaf pan and fill it with 1 inch of water and put it on the bottom or bottom rack of your oven. This will act as the water bath instead of submerging in water (which I always thought was a bad idea).
- Bake the cheesecake on the rack above the water for 50-55 minutes.
- Wiggle the cheesecake, if it is still slightly jiggly in the middle, it’s done. It will firm up in the fridge.
- Turn off the oven and let the cheesecake rest for one hour, preferably with the door cracked open. Remove from the oven and chill in fridge for 4 hours or overnight.
- To decorate, halve my cream cheese frosting recipe and either pipe or layer it on top and garnish with extra cookies.
- You did it!
