Carrot Cake Cheesecake

Prepare the regular white cheesecake (water bath), but do not use a crust.

Grease the bottom of the springform pan with butter, then line with parchment paper.

Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 2 hours. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely cold, about 4 hours. Place in the freezer overnight and/or until ready to assemble the cake.

Prepare the carrot cake according the recipe. *Hint: Be sure to grate the carrots very fine for this cake. If you have a food processor with a fine grating disk, use it. If not, use the small holes on a hand grater. (Southern Living with the buttermilk glaze)

After baking the cake, let the cakes cool in the pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then turn them out onto the rack and peel off the paper liners. Let the cakes cool completely, about 2 hours, then wrap each layer in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

When you are ready to assemble the cake, remove the frozen cheesecake from the freezer and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes while you make the frosting.

To assemble, place one of the cake layers on a cake plate, top side down. Spread with some of the frosting. Release and remove the ring of the springform, then remove the frozen cheesecake from the bottom of the pan. **My hint: Remove the springform ring. Invert the cheesecake onto a wire rack. Slide a metal spatula between the bottom of the springform pan and the parchment paper. Lift off the bottom of the pan. Peel off the parchment paper.

Place the cheesecake, top side down, on top of the frosted carrot cake layer and spread with some frosting. Top with the remaining cake layer, top side up. Ice the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. Decorate the top edge of the cake with a ring of cake crumbs (taken from the 3rd layer of carrot cake) about 2 inches wide. Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve (it takes this cake about 2 hours in the refrigerator to thaw enough to easily slice. Use a sharp straight-edge knife, not a serrated one, to cut it.