Carrot Cake Cheesecake – Cheesecake Factory Copycat

Get ready to indulge! This copycat Carrot Cake Cheesecake is everything you want in a dessert. Rich creamy cheesecake, surrounded by moist carrot cake, then topped with a pineapple cream cheese frosting. Are you drooling yet? Oh, and one more thing, it’s just as delicious as the Cheesecake Factory original too. Yum!

OK, I originally was making this Carrot Cake Cheesecake recipe to celebrate one of the other bloggers 16th anniversary today and, believe it or not, for the life of me, I can’t remember which one. Pretty sad huh? The good news though is that we had a fantastic dessert for our friend that visited and even delivered some to each of our offices. Everyone said I could make an anniversary cheesecake any time I wanted (I wonder who’s coming up next?) so I know it was enjoyed & appreciated by all!

I absolutely adore cheesecake, which is why I have to keep my visits to the Cheesecake Factory to a minimum and, for this special occasion, wanted to make something completely different from my favorites. Now mind you, I love my mom’s New York Style Cheesecake, my sister’s Fudge Truffle Cheesecake and my daughter’s Margarita Cheesecake, but how does a cheesecake with a combination of a moist and spicy carrot cake and a rich creamy cheesecake sound? Absolutely, over-the-top delicious, right? And you guessed it, I had it first at the Cheesecake Factory. 🙂

Now, if you’ve ever been to Cheesecake Factory, you know nothing is better than their cheesecakes! Even now I’m drooling over their selection of mouthwatering cheesecakes in every combination imaginable. So I went in search of a good copycat recipe and found the same one I made here on so many sites that I figured it must be the real deal. And, oh my gosh, was it ever!

It’s really easy to make, subbing in the carrot cake for the usual graham crust and then randomly spooning in both of the flavors for a mixed flavor effect, and finally finishing with a super out-of-this-world pineapple cream cheese frosting. Which, by the way, I am going to use from now on, on just about anything that calls for a cream cheese frosting, like my Zesty Citrus Bar Cookies.

So go ahead and indulge. Make it for Easter or just for a spring or summer dessert. You’ll have no end of compliments on its deliciousness!

And just a little advice, if you ever go visit the Cheesecake Factory, split a light lunch or dinner with a bestie so you save room for a big piece of their cheesecake? Just sayin’ you might want to think about that beforehand. Enjoy!

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CARROT CAKE CHEESECAKE

Prep Time

30 mins

Cook Time

1 hr

Total Time

1 hr 30 mins

 

This cheesecake, full of moist carrot cake & rich cheesecake, is just as delicious as the Cheesecake Factory original. Yum!

Servings: 12 servings

Author: Linda Warren

Ingredients

Cheesecake

• 16 oz 2 pkgs cream cheese, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Carrot Cake

• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup grated carrots
• 1 8-1/2-oz can crushed pineapple, drained with juice reserved
• 1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped + 1 cup add'l chopped nuts to decorate sides of cake

Pineapple Cream Cheese Frosting

• 4- oz cream cheeses, room temperature
• 2 Tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 3-1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 Tablespoons pineapple juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 9" springform pan with nonstick spray.

Cheesecake

1. In your KitchenAid or electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until creamy. Continue beating while adding flour, eggs and vanilla until smooth and well incorporated. Set aside.

Carrot Cake

1. Combine oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl and stir until well blended.
2. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add to oil-sugar mixture and mix thoroughly.
3. Stir in carrots, drained pineapple, coconut and walnuts.

To assemble:

1. Pour half of carrot cake mixture into bottom of springform pan. Add spoonfuls of cheesecake mixture on top. DO NOT STIR OR MARBLE WITH A KNIFE!
2. Top with remaining carrot cake batter by dropping spoonfuls of carrot cake on top of cheesecake mixture. Follow with a smooth topping of remaining cheesecake mixture. Again do not stir or marble with a knife.
3. Bake for 60-65 minutes. Cake should not jiggle but look set. Remove to wire rack to let cool. Once cool place in refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
4. When chilled, prepare frosting.
5. Beat all ingredients together with electric mixer until smooth. Start on low speed until powdered sugar has been incorporated to prevent a kitchen covered with powdered sugar! If icing appears too thick, add a little more pineapple juice.
6. Remove cheesecake from refrigerator. Release pan and carefully lift off.
7. Frost top and sides. Gather chopped nuts in hand and gently press into sides of cake. Refrigerate before serving.

Recipe Notes

If you want to decorate the top, I reserved about half of the frosting and colored part of it then piped it around the edges and center.