Carrot Cake Bundt Cake with a Cheesecake Swirl

Source: Mel's culinary genius brain

That's what I call bundt perfection!

Ingredients:
for the cake:
1 2/3 cup (8 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3-4 large carrots (12 ounces), ends trimmed and finely shredded (about 2 cups)
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar (7 ounces)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
1 cup oil (I subbed a half cup for applesauce - made it so moist and tasty!)
1/2 cup toasted, chopped pecans, optional (don't leave 'em out, I say!)

for the cheesecake swirl:
8 ounces cream cheese, light or regular, softened (I went whole hog and used regular)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg

for the cream cheese frosting:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons heavy cream (I used 1% milk)
1 tablespoon sour cream
2 cups powdered sugar (I ended up adding almost double this because the frosting was just so runny - so now I have tons left over in my fridge!)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9- or 10-inch bundt cake pan very well (I've found that softened butter works best for me), getting in all the nooks and crannies. Lightly dust with flour (and I can't skip the flour dusting!), tapping out the excess, and set aside.

For the cake batter, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl (you can use the bowl of a stand electric mixer here), with a handheld electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugars together until blended. With the mixer running, drizzle in the oil and mix until thick and creamy.

Add the dry ingredients, carrots and pecans, and mix gently by hand until combined and no streaks of flour remain. Set aside for a few minutes while preparing the cheesecake swirl filling.

For the cheesecake layer, beat together the cream cheese, vanilla, sugar and egg until smooth and well-combined. You can use an electric mixer or blender for this.

Pour half of the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Spoon the cream cheese mixture in dollops evenly across the top. Finish with the remaining carrot cake batter. It's ok if you can see the cream cheese layer peeking through - the carrot cake may not cover it all the way.

Bake the cake for 45-60 minutes (mine was done in exactly 45) until the top lightly springs back to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.

It's a beaut!

Remove from the oven and let sit for 5-10 minutes before turning out onto a serving plate to cool completely.

For the frosting, whip together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth and well-combined (again, you could use a blender or an electric mixer for this). Add the heavy cream, sour cream and powdered sugar and mix until light and fluffy.

Once the cake is completely cooled, spread the frosting over the top curve of the bundt cake. If you want to cover the cake entirely, you can double the frosting (I didn't want to cover my whole cake, but I certainly could have with the amount of frosting that I had just by the normal recipe above).

Refrigerate until ready to serve. The cake can be made, frosted and refrigerated up to a day in advance. (I made my cake the day before I needed it, wrapped it in saran wrap and stored it in the fridge unfrosted until I served it - mostly because I needed to transport it and thought it would stay prettier if I did the frosting on site.)

Gotta snatch a pic quick, before it gets devoured completely!

Notes:
Oh my yummy yum!  This was another contribution to our Blanchard Family Mother's Day feast.  It was quite the hit with everyone - especially Callie, who was so excited to make and eat cake!  (She really wanted Grandma to blow out some candles while we sang happy birthday, too - we're working on birthday/holiday protocol.)  I've made Mel's carrot cake cheesecake before, but this was just as delicious and easier than ever!  I'll be keeping this one handy for sure.