Beat heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form.

Beat cream cheese in a large bowl until smooth with a hand mixer. Beat in sweetened condensed milk. Switch to a wooden spoon or spatula and stir in vanilla. Fold in whipped cream.

Line an 8-inch round cake pan with plastic wrap, making sure some of it hangs over the sides. Place ice cream in the prepared pan. Cover and freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour one or two 8-inch cake pans.

Stir together eggs, oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Stir in sugars. Add salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon and stir until they are just mixed in. Add flour and stir until smooth. Stir in pecans (if using) and carrots.

Pour batter evenly into pan(s).

Bake for 20-40 minutes (depending on number of pans and pan size) until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool completely before removing from pans.

Add cold heavy cream to a large bowl and whip until stiff peaks form, adding in powdered sugar and vanilla during mixing.

If you used one cake pan, torte the cake by cutting it in half horizontally. Place one half on the cake plate.

Remove ice cream from pan and remove plastic; place it on top the cake layer. Top with second cake layer.

Do a thin layer of frosting all over the cake (the "crumb coat") to pick up any stray crumbs. Freeze at least one hour.

Do a second coat of frosting, thicker, over the first coat. Decorate as desired. Optional: add some chopped toasted pecans to the outside of the cake.

Serve immediately or freeze. Once the frosting is frozen you can cover the cake with plastic wrap and keep in the freezer for up to a month.