Carrot cake cheesecake

This cake is definetely one of the favourites! It is light and the pecans give a nice crunch to each bite. The carrot cake layer is not very sweet and it gets well-balanced by the sweeter cheesecake layer. Interested in trying it out?

Springform pan 18-20 cm
Preparation time: 30 min + 45 min baking + 4 hours in the fridge
Servings: 10

Tips:

Bring the eggs to room temperature before use (the egg whites build the foam much easier at room temperature).
To make life easy, prepare in advance at least 3 bigger bowls and 2 smaller (because some ingredients need separate handling).

INGREDIENTS

For the cake bottom:

60 g pecan notes
50 g butter
100 ml olive oil
135 g white basterd sugar
2 eggs
175 g grated carrots (approx. 1.5 standard size carrots or 1 very big carrot)
125 g self-raising flour
1 tablespoon pumpkin spice mix ( see in this recipe: Pumpkin bread )

For the cheesecake top:

200 g cream cheese (e.g. Philadelphia)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
50 g light brown basterd sugar
100 ml whipped cream

DIRECTIONS

1. Pre-heat the oven to 175˚C.

2. Chop / crush the pecans. You can put them in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin or use a knife.

3. Grate the carrots.

4. Melt the butter in a small pan or using the microwave.

5. Separate the egg yolks from egg whites.

6. Mix the "wet" ingredients first: the melted buter, olive oil and the egg yolks.

7. Add the grated carrots to the wet ingredients and stir a few times.

8. Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl.

9. Mix the "dry" ingredients in a separate bowl. Add the flour (sift it first), sugar, pumpkin spice mix and crushed nuts. Save some nuts for the decoration.

9. Add the "dry" ingredients to the "wet" ingredients. Do it gradually stirring each time to make sure the ingredients are well combined.

10. Add the beaten egg whites to the mix. Stir gently with a spatula until the batter is consistent.

11. Grease the form with butter. Pour the batter into the form.

12. Bake 45 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the cheesecake layer.

13. Mix the cream cheese, vanilla extract and cinnamon. The add the sugar and mix until smooth.

14. In a separate bowl whi the cream until fluffy. Then add to the other inredients of the cheesecake layer. Stir gently with a spatula until consistent.

15. Put the mix into the fridge until it is time to decorate the cake.

16. When the cake is ready take it out of the oven and let it cool off completely first before decorating.

17. Decorate the carrot cake with the cheesecake layer. Do it either with a spatula or with a piping bag. Sprinkle some nuts on top.

18. Chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours.