Carrot Cheesecake
~ Scrumptiously creamy and rich, this carrot cheesecake is baked on nutty crust and frosted with tangy sweet frosting. You need this cheesecake in your life. ~
When it comes to food, especially dessert, I have many weaknesses.
Chocolate is my drug of choice.
And a little bit of discipline, that I managed to have, completely banishes at the sight of ooye gooye caramel.
I can never have enough of gummy bears in my life.
Besides all that, cheesecake is another weakness of mine. I love thick slice of creamy rich cheesecake, preferably smothered with chocolate ganache and caramel sauce. Ah, what can I say…
But today’s cheesecake is not about chocolate, or caramel. It’s about CARROT cheesecake. Yep, you read that right. Hold on for a sec! Before you reach to that X, let me quickly assure you, this cheesecake doesn’t taste anything like carrot!
When I first told my MIL about this idea, she kind of scrunched up her nose, but encouraged me to give it a try. A few days later, I brought this marvelous cheesecake out to the ranch, and everyone went gaga over it. And no one guessed it had carrot juice. My MIL said, “It’s uber-guber good!”
Listen, this cheesecake is the creamiest and most flavorful cheesecake you’ll have this spring. Let me describe it in details for you. The crust is a mix of pecans and graham crackers, and it’s totally amazing! Nutty, buttery and crunchy, this crust is perfect contrast to creamy rich filling.
The filling is the best part. Sweetened with condensed milk and freshly squeezed carrot juice, the cheesecake filling is creamy, rich and full of flavor, but tastes nothing like carrots.
And to top it off, I made this sweet and tangy frosting, an ultimate sweet touch to complete the perfect dessert.
I slightly adapted my pomegranate cheesecake recipe here. It’s actually my go-to recipe for all my cheesecakes and is practically foolproof. I absolutely love using sweetened condensed milk in my cheesecakes, because it aids to achieve perfectly creamy and rich filling.
To prevent the cheesecake from cracking, here is what I do:
- Low ‘N slow is our preferred method of baking. We need to bake it for about an hour. Start checking for doneness at around 50 minutes. Gently shake the pan and see if the edges of the cake are set, but the center should wobble a bit. Once cooled, the center will set to perfection. This cheesecake requires some patience. It’s totally worth it though.
- When the cheesecake is removed from oven, let it rest for a few minutes and then run a knife around the edges to loosen. As the cake cools, it shrinks. Therefore, if you don’t loosen the edges, the cheesecake cracks because the edges are stuck to the pan.
Enjoy!
Carrot Cheesecake
Scrumptiously creamy and rich, this carrot cheesecake is baked on nutty crust and frosted with tangy sweet frosting. You need this cheesecake in your life.
Yield: 12 servings
Prep Time:20 min
Cook Time:50-60min
Total Time:70-80mins, plus chilling
Ingredients:
For Crust:
- 9 full sheets (140gr) graham crackers
- 1 cup (100gr) pecans
- 1/3 cup (75gr) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
For Filling:
- 24oz (700gr) cream cheese, softened
- 14oz (400gr) sweetened condensed milk
- 6oz (175ml) fresh carrot juice*
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
For Frosting:
- 2oz (55gr) cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup (120gr) sour cream
- ½ cup (60gr) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pecan halves for decoration, if desired
Directions:
- In food processor, pulse the graham crackers and pecans until fine crumbs. In a medium bowl, combine the prepared crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and melted butter and mix well. Press the mixture evenly onto the bottom and slightly up the sides of an ungreased 9-inch spring form pan. Refrigerate while preparing the filling.
- Preheat the oven to 350° F (175° C).
- In the large mixing bowl with paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until fluffy on medium speed, about 2 minutes. (Or you can also use electric hand mixer.) Add condensed and beat for another minute. Stir in the carrot juice. Then add cinnamon, vanilla extract and salt and mix until well combined, about 1 minute. Beat in the eggs one at a time and mix just until combined on low speed. (Don't beat the mixture too long and too fast after you add the eggs. Otherwise too much air will incorporate to the batter, which might cause a crack in the cooked cheesecake.) Transfer the batter into the prepared crust.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until the edges of the cheesecake is set, but the center is slightly wobbly. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of the pan to loosen; cool for another hour. Then refrigerate for at least an hour to cool completely.
- To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese and sour cream in a mixing bowl with whisk attachment, until well combined. Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract and continue to beat until smooth.
- Once the cheesecake is completely cooled, remove springform sides of the pan. Spread the frosting evenly and decorate with pecan halves, if desired.
*I juiced 2 large carrots in my Omega VRT350 juicer to make 6oz of carrot juice.
Refrigerate the cheesecake in airtight container for up to 3 days.
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This is such a fantastic cake!!
It looks soooooooo GOOD !!
Pinning
Totally gorgeous and amazingly delicious! Thanks for linking up with What’s Cookin’ Wednesday!
This looks so incredible! Loving it! Pinned and tweeted. Thanks for being a part of our party. I hope to see you tonight at 7. Lou Lou Girls
This cheesecake looks divine – perfect for Easter! Also, I absolutely love the photos!
SUCH a unique spin on the classic cheesecake- This would be amazing this Easter!
It looks delicious!! Loved the recipe! 🙂
Saying Hi from The Creative Collection Link Party!
Thanks for stopping by, Izabela!
I was never turned off by your carrot cheesecake…it looks beautiful and thick and creamy and luscious. Everything a cheesecake should be…and it’s ORANGE! Thanks for sharing on #FoodieFriDIY
Thanks so much, Christine!
So yummy!
Thank you so much for linking up with us… Featuring you this Friday!
My pleasure, Desiree! Thanks!
Holy Shinkies! 🙂 Looks so heavenly!! Thanks for sharing, visiting from Create and Share DIY and Recipe Party. Pinning!
I love cheesecake! And I love carrot cake! I think I would enjoy this even more then the cake version though!
This looks scrumptious, pinning it!
Does this ever look amazing! Cheesecake is one of the hubs favorites and carrot cake mine! What a great combination to try. Stopping by from Whatever Goes Wednesday and pinning to Pinterest!
Sounds like this cheesecake is for you guys! Hope you enjoy as much as we do! Thanks, Carole!
We will be trying this, this weekend! Thank you for sharing!
Cat
Awesome, hope you enjoy it. Let me know. Thanks, Cat!
This looks so yummy! You may have inspired me to attempt a cheesecake for Easter.
Hope you give it a try. This is one of the bests. Thanks for stopping by, Erin.
YUM! This cheesecake looks amazing, and perfect for Easter. A great substitution for my favorite cheesecake – pumpkin. Love the use of pecans in the crust!
Oh, I love pumpkin cheesecake too. You’ll love this one. Thanks, Renee!
what a delicious idea for Easter brunch!
My one and only attempt at real cheesecake was 6 years ago and a failure. I’m thinking I might be willing to try again with this fantastic looking recipe! Found you on loulougirls. Pinned!
It’s definitely worth trying, Heaven. Don’t give up. 🙂
This looks so delicious! I love cheesecake!
Navy Wifey Peters @ The Submarine Sunday Link Party
Oh does this look amazing! Another great recipe! I would love for you to share this sweet creation over at my link party Making Memories Mondays going on now! 🙂
Cathy
Oh my word! This cheesecake looks so divine, Shinee! I love how thick and creamy it is, and the pecans on top are screaming my name! Pinning 😀
Yep, overall this cheesecake is a bomb! Thanks!
I will pin it so that I can make it later 🙂 Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks, Liisi!
I’ve never had carrot cheesecake. It looks yummy! I’d like to invite you to share your post at my Friday Favorites party!
Thank you, Jerri!
I’m saving this recipe because it would be a crime not to. 🙂
Haha thank you, Ili! 🙂
This is the prettiest carrot cake I have ever seen. Full stop. Nothing else to say. 🙂
Thank you, Nagi! 🙂
Carrot cake anything is seriously my favorite… but this is genius!!! Soooo yummy! 🙂
Thanks, Jen and Emily!
Love the photos! Beautiful colours… that cake looks so good!!
Thank you, Kirsten!
What a brilliant cheesecake. The texture looks divine too.
Thanks, Susan. 🙂
Looks delish!!! And I agree – never too many gummy bears!
Thanks, Amy!
Just, yes. Chocolate and cheesecake are right up there on my list of Top Things I Want At All Times. Love this carrot version!
Thank you, Ashley!
Cheesecake is a huge weakness of mine, too! This cheesecake looks so incredibly creamy and I love the orange color! Your photos are just gorgeous!
Thanks so much, Kristine! The color was indeed beautiful. 🙂