Carrot Cake Cheese Cake and the Cheesecake Factory
There is an ear to ear smile on my face these days. You see, Jayz decided to spend her spring break at home here in CA with her Mom and Dad. The anticipation and preparation began days ahead of her arrival. (It actually began the minute she told me she was coming home.) I made ready her room with cut flowers and marketed for all her favorite foods. I cleared my schedule allowing for mother/daughter time – shopping, crafting, baking, – or doing nothing at all other than relishing our time together before we once again find ourselves on different coasts. Such joy that girl brings me. ♥
When Jayz called to tell me of her plans, she asked if it would be okay for her to bring two friends home with her. I told her it was more than okay. The more the merrier! I am happiest when my home is filled with guests. One of my life long fantasies is to own a B & B. So, I seized the opportunity to “play” a B & B owner by doing the things that would make my guests feel special and pampered; a sweet smelling candle on the night stand, toiletries placed in a basket on the bathroom vanity. and even turn down service complete with a chocolate on their pillow.
More than anything else, feeding my guests is what brings me the most pleasure. I love it when there are people – lots of people – around my table with hungry tummies. As a baker, I am especially excited when my guests love sweets. Fortunately for me, most college student do. Let’s face it, most college students live on Top Ramen and cafeteria food so they are sure to be appreciative of anything fresh from the oven. My house guests were no exception.
It was by special request that I made this Carrot Cake Cheesecake. Jayz asked her Grandparents to Sunday dinner so they could meet her friends. The menu was comprised of some of her favorite dishes but I left the dessert for her guests to choose. Not wanting to overly impose, the first request was for Carrot Cake. “Sure no problem”. Then a hand began to wave back and forth ….as though they were pleading with a teacher to call on them. “Can I up the request” came the question. “Sure” I answered. “Could you make me The Cheesecake Factory’s Carrot Cake Cheesecake?” Whoa….that stopped me in my tracks. I love a challenge but hold on. Dare I accept a request that specific. Luckily it was easier than I initially feared. A quick Google search and there it was!
I love cheesecake but I rarely make one. They can be rich, filling and sometimes even cloying. But not this one. The combination of carrot cake with cheesecake lightened things up a bit. This is truly a delicious dessert. Need more convincing? It is a cinch to make and it is a perfect choice for company because it can be made days in advance.
Note: I have received many comments regarding this cake since it was first published. Everyone who has made this cake has given it rave reviews. That said, several commenters shared that the center of their cakes did not fully bake. After much deliberation I have concluded that this more than likely is a result of too much moisture/liquid coming from the carrots and pineapple. I have found that pre-peeled bagged carrots seem to contain more moisture than fresh carrots. Whether using bagged or fresh, after grating the carrots, remove any excess moisture by pressing them in between layers of paper towel or wringing them in a clean cotton dish towel. Likewise, drain the pineapple in a sieve, pressing down on the pineapple with the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible.
Cheesecake Factory Carrot Cake Cheesecake
Cheesecake:
16 ounces cream cheese (at room temperature)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon flour
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
Carrot Cake:
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 generous pinch of salt
1 (8 1/2 ounce) can crushed pineapple, well drained with juice reserved
1 cup grated carrots
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Pineapple Cream Cheese Frosting:
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon reserved pineapple juice
Dash of salt
Directions:
Grease a 9 or 9 1/2 inch springform pan. Set aside.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat together 2 packages cream cheese and 3/4 cup sugar until smooth. Beat in 1 tablespoon flour, 3 eggs and 1 teaspoons vanilla until smooth. Set aside.
For the carrot cake: in a large bowl, combine oil, 1 cup sugar, 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla, blending thoroughly. Stir in 1 cup flour, baking soda, cinnamon and pinch of salt, mixing well. Stir in drained pineapple, carrots, coconut and walnuts.
Spread 1 1/2 cups carrot cake batter over bottom of prepared pan. Drop large spoonfuls of cream cheese batter over carrot cake batter. Top with large spoonfuls of remaining carrot cake batter. Repeat with remaining cream cheese batter, spreading evenly with a knife. (Do not marble with the knife.)
Bake in preheated 350˚F oven 60 to 65 minutes or until cake is set and cooked through. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate.
When cake is cold, prepare the frosting. In a bowl of an electric mixer, combine 2 ounce cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1 tablespoon reserved pineapple juice and a dash of salt. Beat until smooth and of spreading consistency. Frost top of cheesecake.
Refrigerate 3 to 4 hours before serving.
Source: Adapted from Food.com
I had the opportunity to taste this cake – and it was simply divine.
Please excuse the bad pun, but one should take all of my comments with a grain of salt – as I am Mary’s husband and biggest fan (biggest in both girth and delighted taste buds)
Looks delish! I can’t wait to try it. Great pics (it renews my love of cheesecake).
My two favorite desserts are Carrot Cake and Cheesecake.
I will have to try this perfect combination.
Do you need more taste testers for your blog?
I will happily volunteer..
Mary, You know very well what a sweet tooth I have. I have seen and tasted your baking and I think I’ll book the next flight to LA for some of your apple pie or carrot cake cheese cake combo! On second thought, can you ship it overnight frozen? It should be thawed and perfect by the time it arrives in Melbourne FL. I tried to lick the pictures on my laptop but it’s just not the same.
Love Jim
Thanks Jim! I think I’ll make you come to LA instead of shipping. That way I’ll get to see you. Bring your lovely wife when you come.
If Howie gets to be your biggest fan then put me down as your next biggest fan. This blog is amazing. This cheesecake looks divine. When you taught me how to make pies I was thrilled, now you will have the opportunity to offer your gifts and talents to the world!
Thanks Linda! We can have a Cheesecake baking day anytime you want.
Hi Sister,
First things first. Your blog is absolutely beautiful and depicts you perfectly! I know how long and hard you have been working on it but it has all paid off. Congratulations!
Secondly, I have already made two of your recipes and both were delicious. The Raspberry Oat Bars were very yummy but the Carrot Cake Cheesecake is without a doubt, one of the best desserts I’ve ever eaten. I took it to work and everyone raved about it also. Keep on baking and sharing your wonderful desserts.
Love you,
Your sister Becky
Thanks Bec! So glad you are liking the recipes. You are an excellent baker in your own right so if you approve then it must be good. Love You!
I work with Becky and I had to pleasure of trying both of the desserts she had made. I have to say, the Carrot Cake Cheese Cake, by far is the best thing I have ever tasted. I am definitely making it for Easter. My family is very big on desserts and I can not wait for them to try it. Thank you so much for sharing such a wonderful dessert.
These are two of my favorite cakes, along with German chocolate
.
I was looking for a Christmas dessert to make for myself, since all the rest of the family is covered and this is IT!
Thank you for sharing
What a delicious way to treat yourself!
was wondering if you or anypne had tried this recipe with graham crust added?
Danielle I have not personally tried it with a graham cracker crust. The only question would be whether or not the crust could support the moistness of the carrot cake batter without going soft during baking. That said, graham cracker crusts obviously support the moistness of cheesecake batter. Also, I’m not sure if I would like the struggle between the graham cracker crust and the carrot cake. You might find that there are just too many flavors going on. If you do try it, please let me know. I would like to share the information with my readers. Thanks for visiting my blog!
Hi Mary, We had this cake at a dinner party recently, and it was so good I wanted to make it for one of our parties (yesterday).
I was sad to see that when we cut into it, in the center bottom, the carrot cake part was really runny, almost still batter. I baked the cake 60-65 minutes (like the recipe said), and it was really quite brown on top. The “touch” test made it seem like it was done. Of course, being the inside bottom of the cake, there was no way to tell if that part was done or not (when I took it out of the oven).
The only thing I can think of is I used a 10″ springform, not a 9″ or 9-1/2″ like the recipe suggested, but that seems like it would be done quicker, not need longer time. The recipe says “Bake … until cake is set and cooked through.” Of course, I couldn’t tell if it was “cooked through” until it was served.
Anyway, I guess next time I would cover the top with foil while baking (toward the end) so it didn’t get overbrown, but bake it even longer…?
Any thoughts or input? I would consider myself a pretty advanced baker, so I don’t think I skipped any steps or whatever.
On the up side, everyone raved about the cake (at both the first and second party)! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Patti, I am so sorry that the cake didn’t turn out quite right. I went back and read the recipe since it has been a while since I’ve made it. To be honest, I’m not sure what may have gone wrong, especially since you are a seasoned baker. There are a couple things that could be culprits – the cream cheese you used and the size of eggs. I prefer Philadelphia Cream Cheese over generic store brands when I’m making cheesecake. Sometimes there is a difference in the water content between brands. The other thing is the size of eggs. I always use large but if you used extra-large eggs that also could have had an effect. Since you bake often I will assume your oven is calibrated and that you aren’t having any problems with other recipes. Using a 10-inch pan would not have caused the problem, as you said, it should have baked even quicker. I don’t know if we will solve the mystery but if you make it again, please let me know how it turns out.
Hi Mary,
It is so kind of you to reply. Thank you very much.
I did use Philly brand cream cheese, but I’m not sure about the eggs. To be honest, sometimes they end up out of their original carton and in a bowl (in the frig) if we are trying to consolidate and move things around. They could very well have been XL without me realizing. That would definitely have added more moisture to the recipe. As far as my oven goes… I do make sure to preheat it for a lengthy period of time. Though I have calibrated it, perhaps it is time to do so again.
I will definitely make the cake again, and report back.
Thanks so much.
Patti
Found this recipe on Pinterest a little while ago. With my husbands birthday coming up, I knew this would be his birthday cake. I fixed this last night and we ate it tonight. It was wonderful! This cake was not super sweet, which surprised us. I toasted some walnuts and put on top. All the layers blended so well together. However, I too had a problem with the middle carrot cake part being gooey. It was not terrible, but noticeable. I also baked it in a 10 inch spring form pan at 350 for 65 mins. The cake was wonderful and I will make again. Next time, I will try to find my 9 inch pan (just in case) and may put less cake batter in the bottom ?. Nonetheless, thank you for this recipe. It is definitely a keeper!
Kerri, so glad you liked the cake. I’m sorry to hear that you also had trouble with the center of the cake being too gooey. I’m determined to get to the bottom of the problem. I will be re-making this recipe soon and I will report back on how it turns out.
Fantastic cake, absolutely divine combo, my whole family loved it
thanks for sharing this recipe, thank yoy, thank you, thank you 
You are welcome, welcome, welcome!
I made it today since I did not have coconut I added extra carrots and since I did not have any walnuts I added pecans, It is so good. Moist and delicious
So glad you enjoyed it!
I’m making this for our Easter dinner and was wondering if that is 8 and a half ounce can of pineapple for the carrot cake?
Yes, 8 1/2 ounces. I made a correction to the post so it reads more clearly. Also, I further clarified the preparation of the carrots. Hope you enjoy the cake, and Happy Easter!
I’m in the middle of making this and just noticed the cheesecake portion of the recipe calls for 1 tsp of vanilla and the directions state 2 tsp. I’m going to wing t and go with one
crossing my fingers! I’m sure it won’t be a ginormous difference
It is suppose to be 1 teaspoon. Sorry for the typo. I’ve made the correction. In the end, the amount you used was accurate. Hope it turned out well!
Can you make the cake without using the pineapple? And if so will it still be moist?
Yes, you can definitely make the cake without the pineapple. I think it will be plenty moist without it. Hope it turns out well for you. Please let me know.
Perfect Easter dessert. It was a smash hit! Way to hit it out of the ballpark Mary.
xoxo
So glad you enjoyed it! Happy Easter
This looked so yummy! Followed the directions exactly but the center of my cake didn’t cook either.
So sorry it did not turn out for you. I, too, am confused as to why this cake is turning out for some and not others. Please read the “Note” I have added to the post. Hopefully it will shed some light. I do hope you will try the cake again. It is well worth the effort when it meets with success.
I have made this 3 times. First time perfect, second time I cooked it for 60 minutes and it was over cooked, third time cooked for 50 minutes and it looked perfect. As the cake cooled I noticed the middle had moisture forming. I always bake early and freeze so I froze the third one but afraid it not going to be done. I don’t know what I did different to the first one but sure wish I did.
I KNOW what I did different!!! I dreamed about what went wrong and it came to me. I grated the carrots on 2nd and 3rd try but on the first try I chopped them in a food processor. The first try they were old carrots so they were drier than the other ones!!! You are right on about putting the carrots between the paper towels to drain off the excess moisture from grating the carrots. Will try it again one day soon.
I’m so happy you dreamed about carrots.
I’m also happy that our findings concur. The success of this cake definitely depends on extracting as much moisture as possible from the carrots and pineapple. If you make it again, please let me know how it turns out. I too, will be baking it again soon.
I made this last night and served it today. It was very good, though I expected the cheesecake to be very different than it was. It was almost spongy instead of smooth and creamy. I wonder if it was overdone. I was wondering how baking a cheesecake at 350 was going to turn out. It was good, but next time I will just make carrot cake and cheesecake separately. For those who want to try it anyway, my cake was done in the center. I did remove all the excess moisture from the carrots and pineapple, as suggested. Something that occurred to me as I was measuring the pineapple is that maybe people whose cakes aren’t done put in too much pineapple. I always buy pineapple in a 20 oz can, never 8.5 oz, so I wonder if other people did the same and ended up adding the wrong amount. I decided to play it safe and only put in a little over a 1/4 c of “pressed” pineapple, figuring that half of the can it called for might be liquid. Anyway, the cake and frosting tasted great. The cheesecake left something to be desired, but the combination definitely looked pretty.
Thanks Meghan for all of your insights and thoughts on the cake. It certainly is a recipe that has garnered a lot of comments and differing results. As vowed in an earlier response to another commenter, I will be re-making this cake soon and adding any new discoveries to the post.
Thank you Mary! Pure deliciousness:) I found this recipe on Pinterest 3 weeks ago and I’ve already made it four times…So obviously it has been a hit! I did make Carrot cake, Cheesecake Cupcakes (that’s a mouthful I know) one time, as I wanted individual servings. These came out great as well (just a little more work), and I got 22 regular sized cupcakes out of the recipe. Thanks again for sharing, I look forward to your posts. I’m trying the Chocolate Malt Cake this week…sounds yummy!
p.s. In response to some of the other posts, I’ve found following the recipe exactly makes a perfect cheesecake…but…it is best with a full day of refrigeration before serving. It went from good to fabulous with a little patience
Nancy, I’m glad you found success with this recipe. It remains one of my favorites. I would love feedback if you make the Chocolate Malt Cake. And thank you for following along here on my blog.
I tried this wonderful yummy cake tonight at a dinner we had for 10 friends
. Rave reviews all around.
I followed te recipe to the letter, after an house I tested it with a pick in the middle , it wasn’t done at all si I foiled it and cooked it for 15-20 mins longer and it came out beautiful!!
Everyone loved it!
Thank you so much …great blog by the way, I shall return!
Thank you Wendy for the positive feedback. So glad it worked out for you and that your guests enjoyed it as well.
I hate that auto spell thing!
I followed the recipe
After a hour not house!
So
Hi Mary!
Im from México and yesterday was mothers day here. I made this delicious cake and everyone loves it.
Thank you for your blog a for sharing your recipes
Thanks Eva! Glad it was a hit, and thanks for the blog love.
Nancy M,
How long did you cook the Carrot Cake CheeseCake Cup Cakes ? Do you have any other advise about making them into cup cakes?
I want to make these soon for a baby shower.
Any advise about making this recipe into cup cakes ?
Time baking ect.
I want to make this soon for a baby shower.
Thanks
can u substitute 3/4 cup coconut oil for the vegetable oil?
Missy, thanks for asking. Although I have no first hand experience with substituting coconut oil for canola oil, I did a little reading up on the subject. My guess is that I think it should work just fine. Carrot cake is a fairly forgiving cake and so I think it can handle this substitution. If you try it, please let me know how it worked for you.
One question, do you remove from the spring form pan when it’s cooled and is there a trick to removing from the bottom of pan. I always seem to have trouble doing this!!
Janice, good question. The cake remains in the spring form pan until ready to serve. If the cake is completely cold from the refrigerator, the spring form ring should remove pretty easily. Try running a knife around the inside edge of the pan before releasing it.