RECIPE: Baked white chocolate & carrot cheesecake

Serves: 12

Sweet pastry base:

560g unsalted butter

280g caster sugar

A pinch of salt

4 extra large eggs

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

960g (8 cups) cake flour

Carrot cake:

2 extra- large eggs

250ml (1 cup) sugar

2.5ml (½ tsp) vanilla essence

185ml (¾ cup) sunflower oil

120g (250ml) flour

2.5ml (½ tsp) baking powder

5ml (1 tsp) bicarbonate of soda

5ml (1 tsp) ground cinnamon

2.5ml (½ tsp) salt

1 ripe banana, peeled and mashed

1 ripe pear, peeled and mashed

250ml (1 cup) grated carrot

100ml desiccated coconut

125ml (½ cup) chopped walnuts or pecan nuts

125ml (½ cup) crushed pineapple, well drained

Cheesecake:

750g cream cheese at room temperature

200g (1 cup) caster sugar

Finely grated zest and juice of 2 lemons

6 extra-large eggs

200g good quality white chocolate

250ml (1 cup) cream, at room temperature

80ml (⅓ cup) cake flour

Method: 

1. For the pastry, cream butter, sugar, salt, eggs and vanilla together. Add the lemon zest and fold in the flour until just combined. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate till needed.

2. Preheat the oven to 180° C. Grease and line a 23cm cake pan with baking paper.

3. For the carrot cake, beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla essence together and slowly add the oil. Sift the dry ingredients together and add the mashed fruit, carrot, coconut, nuts and pineapple. Add the fruit mixture to the egg mixture. 

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40-50 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan.

5. For the cheesecake, place the cream cheese in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and add caster sugar, lemon zest and juice. Beat very well, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs.

6. Melt the chocolate in the cream over a medium heat, remove from the heat and fold into the egg mixture.

7. Lastly, fold in the flour and set aside until needed.

8. Roll out the pastry to line the base and sides of a deep 25cm springform pan. Line with baking paper, weighing down with dried beans and bake blind at 160°C for 10 minutes. Remove the paper and beans and bake for a further 5 minutes until light golden in colour.

9. Trim the carrot cake so it's slightly smaller than the pastry case and place the cake in the centre of the pastry base, leaving a border of about 2cm between the diameter of the cake and the pastry case.

10. Pour the cheesecake mixture over the carrot cake covering the cake completely (that's the surprise when it's cut) and bake at 160°C for about 30 to 40 minutes - the mixture should be set but still wobbly in the centre.

11. Allow to cool before storing covered in the fridge. Best served the next day.