Cheesecake Factory Craig's Crazy Carrot Cake Cheesecake
To make the swirl, spoonful's of cheesecake and carrot cake are spooned alternately into a pan. The topping is a tangy cream cheese frosting. Walnuts decorate the sides of the cake. This is a perfect cake for spring!
Servings 12 slices
Calories 746kcal
Equipment
- 1 9 inch Springform pan
- 1 larger pan to fit springform pan in
Ingredients
Cheesecake batter
- 16 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- ⅔ cup sour cream room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs room temperature
Carrot cake batter
- 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup orange marmalade room temperature
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup walnuts chopped fine
- 1 ¼ cups carrots peeled and shredded
Cream cheese frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- ¼ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Decoration
- 1½ cups walnuts chopped
Instructions
Cheesecake batter
- Grease and line a 9 inch springform pan with parchment paper. Let the parchment paper hang out the sides a bit, so it's easier to lift the cake out. Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C).
- In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, and flour together until smooth. Mix in sour cream and vanilla extract until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl when needed. Mix in eggs, one at a time. Set this aside.
Carrot cake batter
- Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a small bowl.
- Combine marmalade, eggs, oil, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in a large bowl, and mix until combined.
- Stir in walnuts and carrots, and then stir in the dry ingredients, until just combined.
- Pour ⅔ cup of carrot cake batter into the bottom of the springform pan. Even it out, to cover the whole bottom. Drop large spoonful's of cheesecake and carrot cake batter alternatively into the springform pan, until both batters have been used up. Do not mix or swirl them together.
- Cover the outside of springform pan with aluminum foil. Place the springform pan in a crock pot liner bag. A chicken bag works well too. You want the bag to go up the whole sides of the pan. Tie or use a wire tie to tighten the bag around the pan.
- Place the springform pan in a larger pan, and fill the larger pan with water to go halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until the center of the cheesecake is slightly jiggly.
- Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside for 30 minutes. Crack open the oven door and leave the cheesecake in for another 30 minutes. Remove from oven and leave the cheesecake to cool at room temperature for about an hour. Remove from water bath, cover, and cool in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours.
Cream cheese frosting
- Beat cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Mix in powdered sugar until fully incorporated.
- Remove cheesecake from it's pan, and place on a cake plate. Spread frosting over the sides and top of the cake. Press chopped walnuts to the sides. Store the cake in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Notes
- Don't swirl the batter together. Just drop spoonful's in and gently even the top.
- Use room temperature ingredients to keep your batter smooth.
- If you don't like walnuts, use pecans! Don't like nuts? Leave them out!
- Use a water bath so the cheesecake bakes evenly and doesn't crack.
Nutrition
Serving: 12g | Calories: 746kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 53g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 18g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 130mg | Sodium: 349mg | Potassium: 277mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 47g | Vitamin A: 3309IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 141mg | Iron: 2mg