Make the Carrot Cake

1. Peel the carrots, then grate them just until you have 1 1/4 cups (125g) of grated carrots. Cover the grated carrot and set in the fridge.
2. Chop the remaining raw carrots (about 188g) into pieces small enough to go into a food processor or blender. Put chopped carrots in a steamer basket (or a colander, if you don’t have a steamer basket) set over a pot of boiling water. Cover and steam the carrots until very tender, about 10-15 minutes.
3. Put the warm carrots into a food processor or blender and puree (do not add the water used to steam the carrots, JUST the carrots). The puree will be thick. You should end up with about 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (150ml | 156g) of carrot puree. Set aside to cool while you make the cake batter.
4. Prepare a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper circle in the bottom and grease the sides. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).
5. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
6. Add the butter, oil, sugars and vanilla extract to and large mixer bowl and beat together until light in color and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Do not skimp on the creaming time, but do not over mix either.
7. Add the egg, then mix until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
8. Add half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until mostly combined.
9. Add the carrot puree (it can be warm or cold) and mix until well combined.
10. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until combined. Do not over mix the batter.
11. Stir in the grated carrots, pineapple, coconut, nuts and raisins (if using them all). Do not over mix.
12. Add the batter to the prepared pan and bake for 27 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. 
13. Remove the cake from the oven when it is done baking and turn off the oven. Let the cake cool in the pan for a few minutes, then flip it out onto a cooling rack, and let it come to room temperature.
14. If you are making the carrot cake layer in advance, double wrap it plastic wrap or place it in an air-tight cake carrier. Store it in the fridge until you are ready to make the next portion of the cake. Allow the cake to come to room temperature before you proceed to making the cheesecake filling. If you are making the carrot cake layer on the same day as the rest of the cake, simply proceed to making the filling.

Make the Cheesecake Filling

1. Wash and dry the same pan you originally baked the cake in and line it with a fresh parchment paper circle on the bottom. Grease the sides, then slide the room temperature cake back into the pan.
2. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and flour on low speed until well completely combined and smooth. Be sure to use low speed to reduce the amount of air added to the batter, which can cause cracks. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Add the sour cream and vanilla extract and mix on low speed until well combined.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing slowly to combine after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure everything is well combined.
5. Reduce or set the oven temperature to 300°F (148°C). Pour the cheesecake batter evenly over the room temperature cake in its freshly prepared pan. 
6. Wrap the outside of the pan with aluminum foil, then place the springform pan inside another larger pan. (See my tutorial for preventing springform pans from leaking. I also like to use a slow cooker liner.) Fill the outside pan with enough warm water to go about halfway up the sides of the springform pan. The water should not go above the top edge of the aluminum foil on the springform pan.
7. Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes. The center should be set, but still jiggly.
8. Turn off the oven and leave the door closed for 30 minutes. The cheesecake will continue to cook, but slowly begin to cool as well.
9. Crack the door of the oven for 30 minutes to allow the cheesecake to continue to cool slowly. This process helps prevent cracking.
10. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and water bath wrapping and refrigerate until firm, 5-6 hours or overnight. Once completely cool and firm, remove from the springform pan.

Make the Whipped Cream & Decorate

1. Just before serving, make the whipped cream. Add the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract to a large mixer bowl. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form.
2. Set aside about 1/4 cup of the whipped cream and color the rest with orange gel icing color. Color the 1/4 cup of whipped cream with green gel icing color.
3. Use a large round piping tip (I used Ateco tip 809) and pipe the orange whipped cream onto the cheesecake so that it looks like the tops of carrots.
4. Use the grass piping tip (Wilton tip 233) to pipe the green whipped cream on top of the “carrots”.
5. Sprinkle some chopped pecans on top of the cheesecake, if desired.
6. Refrigerate cheesecake until ready to serve.