This past weekend we celebrated Easter, as did many of you, but I also celebrated a birthday! It isn’t often that my birthday lands on Easter, but since it did, I figured I would make a cake that would be perfect for both a birthday and Easter. A week or so before my birthday, I came across this Layered Carrot and Cheesecake Cake on Pinterest and was very intrigued.
Carrot cake – well, we have carrot cake lovers in this house (our wedding cake was actually carrot cake).
And cheesecake – I’ve been meaning to make a cheesecake after buying a fair amount of cream cheese during our latest trip to the U.S.A. (seriously – at $1/brick, how could I say no?? The lowest price we see in Canada is about $3 – and that’s store-brand on sale. Needless to say, I have a fair amount of cream cheese stashed away in my deep freeze right now. And yes, you can freeze it – I always do, and have never had any issues. I just defrost it in the fridge, and proceed like normal.)
This Gluten Free Layered Carrot and Cheesecake Cake was really easy to make, the components can easily be made in advance, wrapped in plastic, and refrigerated. Even the assembled cake can be kept in the fridge from the day before. Perfect for any celebration, really. And although the cream cheese frosting is sweet, the tartness of the cheesecake in the middle makes everything about this cake perfectly balanced.
Gluten-Free Layered Carrot & Cheesecake Cake
This Gluten-free Layered Carrot & Cheesecake Cake was really easy to make, the components can easily be made in advance, wrapped in plastic, and refrigerated. Even the assembled cake can be kept in the fridge from the day before. Perfect for any celebration, really. And although the cream cheese frosting is sweet, the tartness of the cheesecake in the middle makes everything about this cake perfectly balanced.
Ingredients
Carrot Cake (barely adapted from [url href="http://www.gingerlemongirl.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank"]Gingerlemongirl[/url])
- 2/3 cup brown rice flour
- 2/3 cup sorghum flour
- 2/3 cup tapioca starch
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3 cups finely shredded carrots
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt (or applesauce for dairy-free)
- 4 large eggs, slightly beaten
Cheesecake Layer (adapted from Beantown Baker)
- 20 ounces (2 1/2 bricks) cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 12 ounces (1 1/2 bricks) of cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4-5 cups confectioners' (icing) sugar, sifted
- 1 cup finely chopped pecans (optional)
Instructions
Carrot Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line two 9-inch baking pans with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients.
- In a separate mixing bowl, combine the carrots and the wet ingredients.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
- Evenly divide the batter between the two prepared baking pans, spreading the batter to an even thickness and smoothing the tops with the back of a spoon.
- Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Carefully run a sharp knife around the outside of the cake. Invert the cake onto a wire cooling rack, peel off the parchment paper, and allow to cool completely before assembling the cake. You can wrap the cake in plastic wrap and a zipper seal bag if you are not assembling it the same day.
Cheesecake Layer
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper.
- In a stand mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Slowly add the sugar, lemon juice, and salt. Scrape down the bowl and beat until smooth.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until fully incorporated, and scraping down the bowl before adding the next egg. Add the sour cream and stir just to incorporate.
- Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan, and bake in preheated oven for 50-55 minutes, or until set in the center.
- Turn oven off, open the door a crack, and leave cheesecake in the oven until the oven has completely cooled. Remove cheesecake from the oven, and run a sharp knife around the outside of the cake, releasing it from the pan. Cover, and refrigerate until completely cooled. Once it has cooled, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for 2-3 hours, making the cheesecake easier to handle when assembling the cake . Remove cheesecake from the freezer when you are assembling the cake. Remove springform collar, flip cake upside down and remove parchment paper. Place on top of one layer of carrot cake, and top with the second carrot cake. If you need to trim the cheesecake to size, do so while the cake is still frozen.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the vanilla and salt.
- With the mixer running on low, slowly add 4 cups confectioners' sugar to the cream cheese mixture.
- Scrape down the bowl, and beat on high for 1 minute. If the frosting seems too think, add an extra 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar. Repeat if necessary.
- Frost cooled, stacked cakes with the frosting.
- Press 1 cup of finely shopped pecans onto the side of the cake if you wish.
- Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Cover and store cake in the refrigerator.
Claire says
Looks wonderful!! I will be making this for sure, my husband and I both love carrot cake and cheesecake, how could this be any better!! Thank you for posting all your wonderful recipes! I am so appreciative, I feel alive in the kitchen again! 🙂
Jeanine Friesen says
Ah, my pleasure, Claire! Glad to hear that you’re enjoying baking again. 🙂
Barbara Borkowski says
Happy Birthday a little late. My birthday is the 28th and like you sometimes it falls on Easter. This sounds like a wonderful cake and can’t wait to bake it. Will invite friends in to sample it as well. I just love your recipts and they are my stand by. Wishing you a wonderful spring. Your Iowa friend. God bless you.
Jeanine Friesen says
Barbara – my Iowa friend! A happy belated Birthday to you! Thank you so much. 🙂
Lauren @ As Good As Gluten says
This looks amazing! You make the most delicious recipes. 🙂
Jeanine Friesen says
Thank you, Lauren, I appreciate it!
Michael says
The cheesecake layer is super intriguing. And I LOVE Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Aside from blueberry cake, it’s my favorite!
Jeanine Friesen says
Ohhh…blueberry cake, that sounds interesting as well, Michael!
Renee says
Happy belated birthday! Hope your day was fantastic… and oh my gracious, this cake looks DE-LI-CIOUS!!!!!
Jeanine Friesen says
Thanks, Renee! Just looking at that pic makes me wish I had a slice right now. 🙂
ClaireC says
Hi !
I’d love to make this recipe for my nephew who is a coeliac but also intolerant of dairy and soya. Would you recommend an alternative to the dairy ingredients in this recipe ?
Also, are the different flours easy to come by – we’re limited in the UK! Thank you 🙂
Jeanine Friesen says
Hi Claire,
I know you can use a dairy-free cream cheese, like Tofutti. However, I haven’t tried it. I would search for a dairy-free, gluten-free cream cheese cake, and use that recipe. I also haven’t tried it, but the pre-blended gluten-free flour you have available in the UK should work to replace all the individual flours in this recipe as well.
Good luck!
Janet says
This cake was amazing!! I made it as reward for a group of ladies I run with after they did their first 10k race. Actually it was their bribe. I promised them it after seeing the first post about it. They don’t eat gluten free but they absolutely LOVED it and ate every last crumb. They thought the 12 weeks of training was well worth it.
Jeanine Friesen says
Haha, Janet, I may even give a 10k a try if this cake was waiting at the end for me. Now THAT is the kind of carrot you could dangle in front of me to keep me moving. 😉 Thanks so much for sharing, glad they all enjoyed it!
Beth says
Is there a suitable substitute for sorghum flour? I have brown rice flour, white rice flour, potato flour, soy flour and can make oat flour.
Jeanine says
Oat flour would work perfectly, Beth!
Cindy says
I came across your website a few months ago and have been enjoying baking. Everything that I have made so far has been delicious! I love carrot cake but I like it with crushed pineapple (from a can). Is there anyway that I can incorporate it in this recipe? Thanks for all of your hard work!
Jeanine says
I haven’t tried it, but I would try cutting the carrots back to 2 cups, and adding 1 cup of very well drained (juice squeezed out) crushed pineapple in it’s place. Glad to hear you’re enjoying the kitchen again, Cindy! 🙂
Linda says
I made the Carrot cake to rave reviews. I did not put the cheesecake layer in and used my own cream cheese icing and only put it in the middle of the 2 layers and the top and then sprinkled with about 2 tbsp. chopped pecans. Delicious, thanks for the recipe. I have given out this recipe twice already; very good.
Sue Smith says
Hi Jeanine…I love your recipes. I have tried several and they are always delicious. I have a sensitivity but my son is an all out celiac and has been for 32 years. I want to make and send him a cake for his birthday, but he also has a problem with tapioca flour. My question is….can I substitute tapioca flour with sweet rice flour? Or should I increase the rice flours? I really need to omit the tapioca flour for him. Thanks in advance.
Sue
Jeanine says
Thanks so much, Sue! If you can’t use tapioca starch, I’d use arrowroot starch in it’s place. Should work without a problem!
Sue Smith says
Thanks, Jeanine. I will try that. Do you ever use coconut flour in your recipes? I was about to try it but will try the arrowroot instead.
Jeanine says
I’ve played with coconut flour before, but it is so different from normal flours, you can’t just simply substitute it for something else. It absorbs much more liquid than normal flours, so you only need a small amount by comparison.
Elise M. says
So I had been craving carrot cake for a while now. It was an intense craving! I decided to check your site because it is my go to site for desserts… and voila you had a recipe. I was super excited!
I didn’t add the cheesecake layer, although my husband would have loved it, it would have been to much cream cheese for me. Anyway, I LOVE YOUR CAKE! Everyone who tried it LOVED it! And most were gluten eaters.
So before I made the cake, while measuring out the flours, I thought I’d weight them. And incase there are others out there who enjoy weighing them I thought I’d put them in here.
Brown Rice Flour 85g (2/3c)
Sorghum Flour 74g (2/3c)
Tapioca Flour/Starch 64g (2/3c)
Thanks again for the recipe!
Susan Habegger says
This carrot cake was delicious. I have always just changed my old carrot cake to gluten free and i could tell a difference. I can’t tell yours is gluten free. I made the icing with Violife cream cheese for dairy free. It tasted just like regular cream cheese icing. Thanks for your recipe.
Jeanine says
Yeah! So glad to hear that, Susan!