Best of both worlds. 

I think it's safe to say that my birthday cake this year turned out WAAAAY better than last year's and thus is 100% a success. Okay fine, maybe around 92% because I think the 8% needs a bit of adjusting but still! This cake turned out better than I was expecting and honestly, the outcome just made my birthday sweeter and happier.

Not gonna lie, prep work on this cake is looooong one, especially when you do it solo. You essentially need to do prep for 2 cakes and one of them has more ingredients than the other. It felt like a baking marathon to me haha! Mad props to those who do this professionally because man, was I on the verge of collapsing when I finally put the cake in the oven (I didn't- still need to clean up my working area and the equipment I used!). The end result, though? Worth all the trouble.

So this is pretty much a cheesecake and carrot cake in one. I love both things, cheesecake and carrot cake, so having them both at the same time was pretty much appealing to me. I love how the cheesecake turned out- smooth, creamy, and just the right sweetness and how the carrot cake's flavor and texture complemented the cheesecake. It's really a decadent and quite filling slice of cake! 

Also, can we talk about that beautiful swirl because I cannot get over it! I wasn't expecting mine to have the swirl inside because the food blog where I got the recipe from, the cake's batter separated, so the carrot cake became the base cake/crust and the cheesecake layer was on top. Naturally, I was expecting the same result but lo and behold, I got the swirl!! So elated!

If I could tweak anything, I think I'll add some lemon juice to the cheesecake batter or at least amp up the vanilla more. I want the cheesecake layer to taste more like a New York cheesecake so I think some lemon and/or a bit more vanilla will do it good. The carrot cake batter is fine the way it is but I think I'll add an additional 1/4 cup of grated carrot next time, just to amp up the carrot flavor. Other than those, I think this cake is fantastic!

Give it a go- I promise, the effort's worth it! Enjoy! x

Carrot Cake Cheesecake

(adapted from TheGirlWhoAteEverything)

Cheesecake layer:

16oz cream cheese, room temp (highly recommend using Magnolia cream cheese!)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon all purpose flour

3 eggs, room temp

1 - 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Carrot cake layer:

3/4 cup butter, melted

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, room temp

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

a pinch of salt

1 8oz can crushed pineapple, drained

1 cup grated carrot

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

- Preheat oven to 350F and line a 9" round springform pan with baking paper (skip this step if yours is nonstick).

A. Cheesecake layer

- in a bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.

- add in flour, eggs, and vanilla extract and beat until smooth and well combined. Set aside.

B. Carrot cake layer

- in a bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

- in a  new bowl, beat butter and sugar until well combined.

- add in eggs and vanilla and beat until just combined.

- add in dry mixture and beat until there are no visible flour streaks.

- fold in crushed pineapple and walnuts and mix one last time.

C. Assembly

- pour 1 1/2 cups of carrot cake batter on the bottom of your pan.

- spoon about 1/3 of the cheesecake layer on top, making sure the carrot cake batter is adequately covered.

- add in the remaining carrot cake batter on top.

- finish by pouring remaining cheesecake batter on top of the carrot cake layer. (NOTE: Do not marble the top layers. Leave them as separate layers as they'll eventually marble.)

- bake for around 55-60 minutes or until the cake is set and cooked through.  

- let the cool cake to room temperature then refrigerate for 4 hours to overnight before slicing/serving. Enjoy!