Carrot Cake Cheesecake Decadence

It seems to me that Fall is here in full swing and the crispness of the air is a clear indicator that Winter is soon to follow.  The long Thanksgiving weekend was nice and relaxing here on the home-front.  I wouldn't mind one of these types of breaks every couple of months - it has been perfect. 

I spent some of my weekend reading.  I've been reading Roots for what seems like an eternity now.  There is a part of me that is eager to get to the end and learn what the outcome will be for all of these lives I feel entangled with, but I also hate it when a good book comes to an end. 

This past holiday has been a thoughtful one, between remembering those that I've lost while appreciating how rich I am with people that are in my life. 

I got quite a bit accomplished over the long weekend, although it would have likely been more productive with just a little more sun to dry things out.  I have moss growing on my driveway.  Already. 

I did a variety of chores, like *finally* ordering a garage door opener remote, buying a new couch and loveseat (delivery on Thursday - can't wait!!), washing bed comforters, making a run to the post office for mailing out a few things, getting caught up on emails, and making plans for what types of cookies to make around Christmas time.  I also changed the air filter in the heat pump, worked on fine-tuning my financial budget that I recently put in place, paid bills, took the dog for several walks and watched a few movies.  A bunch of little things, but it made me feel productive. 

I also bought an entire box of the wrong kind of garbage bags.  They fit, but they don't have the ties on the top.  So are they usable?  Yes.  Do I like it?  No.  And of course, I bought a big box. 

Recently, I baked some brownies to take to work.  I used a new recipe that called for Dutched cocoa.  I felt a little silly, but I am certain I could tell a significant difference in how these tasted.  So, what I'm going to do is a taste-test.  You know... like the Pepsi challenge.  I'll have people blind taste and tell me if they can tell a difference and if so, which do they like the best.  So stay tuned for that one! 

Tonight I wanted to try something new, so I made a Carrot Cake Cheesecake.  I wish I knew where the recipe came from originally.  I wrote it down on a piece of paper who-knows-how-long-ago and didn't note where I got it.  I have not cut or tasted it yet, but here is the unfrosted picture.

The recipe uses carrots, pineapple, coconut and nuts.  Mixed with the deliciousness of cheesecakey goodness, how can it go wrong?   It can't. 

This cake is quick to mix up and bake, but if you're needing something you can serve fast, you'll want to wait on this recipe.  It requires a fair amount of cool down and refrigerating time.  I am sure it will be well worth the wait, though!

Here's the frosted product.  I was only supposed to frost the top, but got all carried away and frosted the entire thing.  I need to work on improving my instruction following skills.

Ok, so it's not a very good picture.  It looked better when it was smaller on my phone.  :)   It looks much prettier pre-frosting.

I'll insert a picture at the bottom or this blog entry of a piece once I slice into it tomorrow.  I hope it tastes as good as it looked and smelled!!

Over and out for now!

"With the right combination of passion, fearlessness and butter, anything is possible."- Julia Child

 

Ok... so here is the picture I promised once I cut into the cake: