Carrot cake cheesecake
Serves: 16
Prep time: 45 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Martin Poole
Carrot cake cheesecake
A modern mash-up of two of our favourite things!
Serves: 16
Prep time: 45 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
376Kcal
Fat
22gr
Saturates
7gr
Carbs
39gr
Sugars
29gr
Fibre
1gr
Protein
5gr
Salt
0.4gr
Sarah Akhurst
Our Food Director Sarah is a food obsessive, and spends most of her time scoping out the latest food trends, experimenting in her own kitchen, or making her family wait to eat while she photographs every dinner she makes for the 'gram! A complete Middle Eastern food junkie, she is never far from a good shawarma marinade, a pinch of Aleppo chilli or a sprig of dill
See more of Sarah Akhurst’s recipes
Sarah Akhurst
Our Food Director Sarah is a food obsessive, and spends most of her time scoping out the latest food trends, experimenting in her own kitchen, or making her family wait to eat while she photographs every dinner she makes for the 'gram! A complete Middle Eastern food junkie, she is never far from a good shawarma marinade, a pinch of Aleppo chilli or a sprig of dill
See more of Sarah Akhurst’s recipes
Ingredients
For the carrot cake
- 150g plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1⁄2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground mixed spice
- 125g light brown sugar
- 125ml vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 150g coarsely grated carrots
- zest of 1 orange
- 50g walnuts, roughly chopped
- 50g pecans, roughly chopped
For the cheesecake
- 400g full-fat soft cheese (we used Philadelphia)
- 100g caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 3 tbsp cornflour
- 100g soured cream
For the icing
- 40g soft unsalted butter
- 80g icing sugar, sifted
- 40g full fat soft cheese
- 1⁄2 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
To decorate, optional
- 75g caster sugar
- 1 large carrot, peeled
- 20g walnuts, toasted
- 20g pecans, toasted
Step by step
Get ahead
This keeps in the fridge, covered, for up to 4 days.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4. Grease and line a 20cm diameter springform tin.
- For the carrot cake layer, mix the flour, baking powder, bicarb, spices and sugar together with a pinch of salt. Whisk the oil and eggs together in a jug then add to the dry ingredients. Whisk until well combined, then fold through the grated carrots, zest and nuts. Set aside.
- Make the cheesecake layer by stirring together the soft cheese, caster sugar and vanilla. Add the eggs and cornflour and stir to combine, taking care not to overmix or the mixture will become runny. Finally, fold through the soured cream.
- Spread half of the carrot cake mixture evenly over the base of the lined tin. Dollop a third of the cheesecake mix on in large spoonfuls, then dot with the remaining carrot cake mix. Finish with the remaining cheesecake mix, until the carrot cake is completely covered up.
- Place on a baking tray and bake for 55-60 minutes, or until the mixture is set but still has a bit of a wobble in the middle. Remove from the oven; leave to cool completely in the tin, then chill in the fridge for at least 5 hours, preferably overnight.
- For the icing, put the butter in a bowl with half of the icing sugar and whisk until combined. Beat in the remaining icing sugar then mix in the soft cheese and vanilla. Using a palette knife, cover the top with the icing.
- If making the candied carrot ribbons, dissolve the sugar in 100ml water in a small pan. Use a mandoline or knife to thinly slice the carrot lengthways. Add the carrot ribbons to the pan and simmer for 3-5 minutes until tender. Remove the ribbons to a lined tray, using a fork. Let them cool just enough to handle, then twist into curls and leave to cool completely.
- Reserve a few whole nuts then finely chop the rest. Decorate the top with the carrot ribbons, chopped and whole nuts.
