Carrot Cake Cheesecake

Sometimes you need a quick and easy cake to whip up for dessert. Really, anything sweet and yummy will do. It doesn't have to be fancy, it just has to be good.

This is not one of those cakes.

This was an I-need-this-cake-and-I-will-do-whatever-it-takes-to-get-it cake.

And it really wasn't so hard.

Cake mix + cheesecake. 3 bowls. Still good.

This is a copycat recipe for the Cheesecake Factory's "Craig's Crazy Carrot Cake Cheesecake". For a variety of reasons, I no longer have access to this amazing creation, but I needed to have it in my life. So I made it. And I ate it. And all was well in the world.




Mix carrot cake mix, 1/4 vegetable oil, and 2 eggs.




Stir in 1/2 cup of crushed pineapple, 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut, 1/2 cup golden raisins, 1/2 cup grated carrots, and 1/2 cup walnuts.

I love when I only have to use one measuring cup.

Be sure carrots and pineapple are very well drained. The drier, the better.



Cover the bottom of your greased springform pan with a thin layer of the carrot cake batter.

Mmmmm. Soupy.




I promise that this is beyond delicious when it's done.




Beat together 3/4 cup sugar, 2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, and 450g cream cheese (that's two 250g packs minus about a fifth reserved for the icing - sorry, some math is required, here). Then beat in eggs until smooth and creamy.




Cover the carrot cake layer with a thin layer of the cheesecake mixture. Then alternate spooning carrot cake and cheesecake into the pan to achieve the marbled effect. Bake at 350F for 1.5-2 hours, until cake is firm.




Frost cake over a piece of wax paper so you can easily clean up your mess.

And if you're making this frosting, you will want to be cleaning it up with your tongue.

I was too busy eating the frosting to take a picture of the bowl, but it's the remaining 50g (one fifth) of cream cheese, 1 tbs softened butter, 2 cups confectioner's sugar, 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, and 2 tbs pineapple juice.




If you want to be fancy (which I did), cover the sides with more chopped walnuts. You can do this by just cupping your hand full of walnuts next to the cake and gently pressing them in. Actually much easier than it looks.




Now this, ladies and gentlemen, is how carrot cake was intended.




Cream cheese frosting on carrot cake is for amateurs.




Actual cheesecake on carrot cake is the real deal.




Creamy cheesecake, sweet pineapple frosting, and moist carrot cake.




Eating regular carrot cake will never be the same. You can thank me later.

B.faB and happy baking!

Note: This recipe uses actual dairy! Wahoo! It could probably be done with soy and margarine, but I wanted this cake to be the real deal.

Ingredients
Carrot Cake

• 1 box carrot cake mix 
• 2 eggs 
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil 
• 1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained well, reserve juice 
• 1/2 cup coconut 
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts 
• 1/2 cup grated carrots, drained well 

Cheesecake

• 450g (or 14oz) cream cheese 
• 3/4 cup sugar 
• 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
• 3 eggs 

Pineapple Frosting

• 50g (or 2oz) cream cheese (softened) 
• 1 tbs butter (softened) 
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar 
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 
• 2 tbs pineapple juice 

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F. Mix well carrot cake mix, eggs, and oil. Stir in pineapple coconut, walnuts, and carrots. Cover the bottom of a greased springform pan with a thin layer of the cake mixture.

In a separate bowl, beat together cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and eggs. Add this in a thin layer to the springform pan. Alternate adding spoonfuls of cheesecake and carrot cake mixes. Bake for 1.5-2 hours, until cake is firm.

For frosting, beat mix together cream cheese, butter, sugar, vanilla, and pineapple juice until smooth. Frost when cake is completely cooled. Add walnuts to side of cake if desired.