A birthday is always deserving of a special cake.  My eldest daughter Daphne just turned 25 and this was her request.  This recipe is from Half Baked Harvest – a wonderful blog that has many great inspirational recipes.  It is a moist and delicious cake and so creative with the layers of cheesecake and carrot cake and I love the coconut whipped cream which adds a delicious subtle flavor to the cake.  I made a few minor adjustments to the original recipe using all brown sugar in the cake and some extra cream, but the birthday girl was very happy!  You can visit Halfbakedharvest.com for the original recipe.  Happy 25th Birthday Daphne!!!

Ingredients:

cheesecake layer:

  • 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, completely softened
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla

carrot cake layer:

  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 1/3 cups grated carrot
  • 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

coconut cream topping:

  • 1 (14 ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • toasted coconut flakes for garnish
  • cut fresh flowers for decoration

cake layers:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and place rack in center of the oven. Grease a 9 inch springform pan with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, whisk together  the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, with paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides once or twice (about 3 minutes). With mixer on low, add one egg at a time along with the vanilla and beat until the mixture is smooth. Set aside.
In a separate mixing bowl, beat together the canola oil, greek yogurt and  brown sugar until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Add flour mixture to the mixing bowl and allow dry ingredients to incorporate.  Turn mixer off and stir in carrots and coconut to combine.
Beginning with the carrot cake batter, spread about 3/4 of the the batter into the prepared springform pan, into one even layer. Next add half the the cheesecake batter by  carefully spooning it over carrot layer and then gently spread it into a layer.  Add remaining 1/4  of carrot cake mixture and finish with a layer with the remaining half of the cheesecake batter.  Just before placing in the oven, gently tap pan on countertop to eliminate any air pockets.
Bake cake in the oven for about 50-60 minutes (the top part of cheesecake may jiggle a bit even when cake is ready).  Allow the cake to chill in the pan for about an hour, then transfer to the fridge to chill completely uncovered for at least a couple of hours.
coconut whipped cream:
Separate the cream from coconut milk by scooping out thick cream from can and placing it in a class to chill for about 30 minutes before making whipped cream.  Once chilled add coconut cream and whipping cream to mixing bowl with whisk attachment. Once peaks begin to form, add powdered sugar and vanilla and whip until stiff peaks develop.  Dollop whipped coconut cream on cake.  Garnish with toasted coconut flakes and flowers.  Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.