Directions 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Combine first 5 ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Stir until combined. 

Add remaining cake ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until just incorporated, being careful not to overmix.

Spray 2 (9-inch) pans with non-stick cooking spray, and line the bottoms with a parchment paper circle. Pour batter evenly between the two cake pans.

Bake cake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove cake from oven and let cool on a cooling rack.

To make the cheesecake layer, cream together cream cheese and sugar until smooth, with a hand-held mixer. Next, in a standing mixer, whip heavy cream until thick.Stir whipped cream and vanilla into the cream cheese and sugar mixture until smooth.

Spray a 9-inch cake pan with non-stick spray, and insert a parchment circle on the bottom of the pan. Scoop cheesecake filling into the pan and press down to flatten it. Refrigerate for a couple of hours to overnight to firm up before assembling the cake.

To make the frosting, beat the butter and cream cheese in a medium-sized mixing bowl until smooth. Add in the powdered sugar and mix to combine, and then mix in the maple syrup.

Remove the rounded tops of the cake layers with a cake leveler.

To assemble the cake, put the first cake layer top side down on a cake plate. Add a small amount of icing and spread that around the cake layer. Top the cake layer with the cheesecake layer, another thin layer of icing, and then the second cake layer top side down. Decorate the top as desired with the remaining icing.