Name: Carrot cake cheesecake
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: Serves 10-12
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 100g light brown muscovado sugar; 5 tbsp sunflower oil; 2 large eggs; 100g plain flour, sifted; ½ tsp baking powder; ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda; ¼ tsp mixed spice; ¼ tsp ground ginger; ½ tsp ground cinnamon; ½ orange, zested; 75g carrots, grated; 100g pecans, roughly chopped; 500g soft cheese; 150g icing sugar, sifted; ½ tsp mixed spice; ½ tsp ground ginger; 1 tsp ground cinnmon; 1 orange, zested; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 200ml double cream

100g light brown muscovado sugar
5 tbsp sunflower oil
2 large eggs
100g plain flour
sifted
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
¼ tsp mixed spice
¼ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ orange
zested
75g carrots
grated
100g pecans
roughly chopped

CHEESECAKE TOPPING

500g soft cheese
150g icing sugar
sifted
½ tsp mixed spice
½ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnmon
1 orange
zested
1 tsp vanilla extract
200ml double cream

Method

step 1
Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4 and line a round, 20cm springform tin with baking paper.
step 2
To make the carrot cake base, whisk together the brown sugar, oil and eggs until smooth and fully combined. Add in the flour, baking powder, bicarb and spices, then beat together to combine. Stir in the orange zest, grated carrot and 40g of the chopped pecans, and stir until just combined.
step 3
Scrape into the tin, level out, and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until a skewer poked into the centre comes out clean.
step 4
Remove the cake from the oven and leave to cool in the tin completely. Once cool, remove from the tin, trim to level the top for a neater finish, if you like, then remove the baking paper and put back into the tin.
step 5
To make the cheesecake topping, beat together the soft cheese, icing sugar, spices, orange zest and vanilla extract with an electric mixer until creamy and smooth. Add in the double cream and beat again until fully combined.
step 6
Spoon the cheesecake mixture on top of the cooled cake, even out the top and leave to set in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
step 7
Run a knife around the edge of the cake, then loosen the tin and remove the cake. Roughly chop the remaining pecans and scatter across the top to serve.