These carrot cake bars are so moist and delicious! They have a sprinkle of cinnamon and a cheesecake swirl in them. They make a great Easter dessert. If you love carrot cake, I have a carrot cake with caramel frosting recipe that's to die for.
I tend to make carrot cake inspired recipes a couple of months out of the year. The first being around Easter because I associate carrot cake with Easter and the second time when the carrots in my garden are ready and/or I find some at the farmers market that are calling my name.
Carrot Cake Bars Recipe
This Carrot Cake Bars Recipe is the first of several that should be coming out in the next week or sooner! It's made completely from scratch and has a blondie feel about it. There's a generous swirl of cheesecake in it instead of adding a cream cheese frosting to the top of the bars.
How to make Carrot Cake Bars
Let's get making these carrot cake bars. Here are the ingredients you'll need for the carrot cake bars:
- butter - I used unsalted butter and added salt to the recipe. Don't worry about letting the butter come to room temperature, it will be melted instead.
- brown sugar - Light brown sugar is recommended for this recipe, but dark will do in a pinch. It may provide a more dense bar as there is more molasses in it.
- eggs - always use large eggs unless the recipe specifies a different size. You'll need a whole egg and just a yolk for this recipe.
- vanilla extract -high-quality vanilla extract. I recommend Rodelle's vanilla extract.
- flour - all-purpose flour will do the trick for this recipe! Be sure to not pack the flour in your measuring up and to always level it.
- cinnamon - cinnamon is the signature flavor for a carrot cake recipe. Make sure yours is still in date. It's easy to forget that your spices do expire.
- baking powder - To activate baking powder, an acid (brown sugar in our case) is always required. Because most baking powders are now double acting, that means this batter needs to be baked right away.
- salt - salt helps balance the sweetness and contributes to the flavor!
- carrots - the carrots don't need to be peeled but can be if you want. Use a box grater to for shredding carrots.
- cream cheese - always use full-fat cream cheese unless the recipe says otherwise.
Now to make these carrot cake swirled cream cheese bars, begin by melting the butter and whisking it with the brown sugar in a large bowl. Add in the egg and vanilla extract. Whisk until incorporated.
Add in the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk until the dry ingredients are incorporated and then fold in the grated carrots.
For the cream cheese part of the carrot cake cream cheese bars, add the cream cheese, sugar, yolk, and vanilla extract into a bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat until smooth.
Start with half of the carrot cake batter. Begin pouring the batter into an 8x8 baking pan. Spread it out evenly. Add dollops of the cream cheese on top of the carrot cake batter. Add the remaining carrot cake batter on top and around the cream cheese. Add the remaining cream cheese in spoonfuls on top.
Using a skewer or butter knife, swirl the cream cheese into the carrot cake batter. Place into the preheated oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
How to Store Carrot Cake Bars
These bars are loaded with cream cheese, so the best way to store them is in an airtight container and in the fridge. They will last 3 to 5 days and taste delicious straight out of the fridge.
I have other great carrot cake squares to try too! Do you love browned butter? Check out this browned butter carrot cake blondies recipe.
Carrot Cake Bars
Ingredients
Carrot Cake Bars
- ½ cup butter melted
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup shredded carrots
Cheesecake Swirl
- 4 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8x8 baking pan with non-stick spray and set aside. You can also line the pan with parchment paper and lightly spray with nonstick baking spray.
Carrot Cake Bars
- Place the butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds. If needed, microwave another 15 seconds to melt the butter completely.
- In a medium bowl, add the melted butter and brown sugar. Mix to combine.
- Stir in the egg and vanilla extract.
- Add in the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Stir until completely combined.
- Fold in the shredded carrots. Set aside.
Cheesecake Swirl
- In a medium bowl, add in the cream cheese and sugar. Beat with a hand mixer until smooth.
- Add in the egg yolk and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and creamy.
Assemble
- Add about half of the carrot cake batter into the pan and spread it out with an off-set spatula.
- Add half of the cheesecake batter to the carrot cake batter. Do this by dropping dollops of batter over the carrot cake batter. Don’t swirl yet.
- Add the remaining carrot cake batter on top of the cheesecake batter and around the cheesecake batter.
- Add the remaining cheesecake batter by adding dollops on top of the carrot cake batter.
- Using a knife or skewer, swirl the batters together. Swirl as much or as little as you like.
- Bake for about 35-40 minutes until the edges are golden brown. There will be very little jiggle to the center.
- Cool completely before cutting. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
(Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.)
Steph says
Mine didn't rise at all, they're about 1/8 inch thick ?. Any suggestions (baking powder was fresh).
Miranda C. says
Oh no! They definitely should be thicker than that! The only suggestions I have are to make sure all the ingredients were measured correctly, the pan was the correct size and the cream cheese layer wasn't fully blended in, just swirled. Hopefully they will turn out better next time as they really are delicious!
Lynn says
Raisins usually are a great addition to carrot cake, have you ever tried that? I would like to try but I don’t know if it will mess up the bars.
Miranda C. says
Raisins would be good! I would add about 1/2 cup to the carrot cake bar part of the recipe and fold them in at the end of the batter. Enjoy!
Nadine says
Overall I liked them, but the texture was a bit.... gummy to me. I do not know how to really describe it. Maybe from being kept in the fridge? I opted to make some cream cheese frosting for the top and I feel like that solved my issue with them. I wanted more of the cream cheese!
Deni says
Why do your readers ask questions about substitutions or additions to your recipe instead of trying the recipe with their preferences themselves. Seems silly to ask questions about your recipe that they want to change.
Jenn says
I think it's so they don't waste their ingredients. If they ask her ahead of time, she may say "no don't do that!". It's like Ask the Expert. 🙂
Melissa says
Can I use self rising flour instead of all purpose flour? Would it make a difference?
Miranda C. says
Hi Melissa! Self rising flour actually already contains baking powder mixed into the flour. In fact, there is about 1 teaspoon of baking powder in every cup of self rising flour. This would be too much baking powder for these carrot cake bars. They would end up being less dense and very cake-like. I would recommend sticking to regular flour if possible. Hope this helps!
Tamara says
The bars looked great! I doubled the recipe as I was going to use the bigger 13x9 pan, but found (2) 8x8's instead. I used bought shredded carrots and it overwhelmed the bars. ? Might I suggest tweaking your recipe to say finely shredded carrot or home shred to avoid my mistake. I will try again later using the smaller grated version.
Miranda C. says
Thanks for that tip Tamara! Finely shredded carrots would definitely work best and blend into the batter more. Let me know how they turn out when you try recipe again.
Jessica Lindert says
I’m not one to post reviews, like ever. But I spent hours the other night looking for a recipe I could make to bring to a family cookout that I had all the ingredients for. Then found this. Now I’m leaving a review because there weren’t many to begin with and I feel this is a recipe worth making. It was SO good and fairly easy. I followed the recipe exact other then I only had salted butter on hand. So I skipped adding extra salt. These are heavenly! Seriously they were devoured SO fast! Saved recipe and will make again and again’
Jill Dalldorf says
Can these be made the day ahead & if so how do you suggest storing them? Also would a disposable aluminum pan change the baking process, for I am making for a dessert bar & have several desserts to bake,
Miranda C. says
Hi Jill!
These bars can definitely be made a day ahead. I would wrap them tightly and store them in the fridge. Take them out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you are going to serve them so they have time to soften up a bit.
Baking in a disposable aluminum pan will not change the baking process, just check them after about 25 minutes. Sometimes things bake a little faster in the thinner, disposable pans.
Hope they turn out great!
Eleanor says
These bars are yummy! Super easy— very similar technique to that of lemon squares or chess squares.
They are not super sweet, but still very delicious. A nice, not overly sweet snack. Simple recipe.
Lis says
Hi, I’ve just made these yummy bars, real success, thanks so much for sharing.
Miranda says
That's awesome! I'm happy to hear they were a success.
Teri says
Do you know if these can be frozen. Want to start baking and freezing for a wedding
Miranda C. says
YOu can make the bars and freeze them! I would add the icing right before the event though. Cream cheese frosting doesn't always thaw well.
Laurie says
I had the same question as I was just gonna double and have more for later. But I’m confused about icing with the cream cheese later since it doesn’t thaw well. Isnt it baked into the bars? I don’t see where there is a frosting?
Miranda C. says
The cream cheese layer is baked into the bars. It will actually freeze and thaw just fine! I hope you enjoy them.
Jessica says
Could I use gluten free flour in place of all purpose
Miranda says
I haven't tried it with gluten-free flour, but if you can try it I would love to hear how it goes! Make sure to check your flour bag to see if there's a substitution recommendation for all-purpose flour on it too.
Elaine Trowell says
I measured and made exactly as stated on recipe. Was very gummy and tasteless. Was going to use as desert for friends tonight. I will serve with berries and cream for favour.
Miranda C. says
Oh no! I'm sorry that it didn't come out exactly as you expected. The gummy texture may indicate that the bars were not baked long enough. Hopefully your friends still enjoy them with your additions!
Jan says
Easy to make, way sweeter than I'd have liked.
Joe Fox says
Can I use boxed carrot cake mix for this?
Miranda C. says
Boxed carrot cake mix will make the bars less dense and chewy and more light and cakey. You can definitely give it a try, it will likely turn out more like a regular cake than a true bar. Let me know how it works!
Cara says
Can I use carrot baby food instead of shredded carrots for this? If so, would 1 jar be enough?
Thanks,
Miranda C. says
I wouldn't use baby food as it has a lot more moisture. Shredded carrots have a good texture and will not add so much water to the recipe. Hope this helps!
Brandy says
Can you use the pre bagged shredded carrots instead of grating carrots?
Miranda says
Yes, if you can find finely shredded carrots that are prebagged. I think the regular matchstick shredded carrots that are prebagged will be too thick to cook long enough to become tender for this bar recipe though.
Beverly says
The recipe calls for 1 tablespoonful of vanilla extract. Is this measurement correct?
Miranda says
Yep, but you can add less if you would like.
Karen says
I add a small can of crushed pineapple (well drained) to this recipe. Oh my! Delicious!
Debra says
Mine just came out the oven, smells heavenly. I doubled the recipe and used a 13X9 - they look way more like cake so far - the topping is very smooth and they rose beautifully. I’m hoping they end up denser, like true bars, but I’m sure will taste great either way.
Lisa says
Hi, I’m wondering if this will be ok to double the recipe? Thanks!
Miranda C. says
Yes! This recipe works doubled just be sure to use two pans or a larger pan for baking. They don't bake well when made thicker 🙂
Amanda says
Unfortunately these turned out not soft a moist like carrot cake. They were dense and rubbery. Flavor was good- especially the cheesecake swirl but overall wouldn’t make again.
Miranda says
What kind of carrots did you use? Did you shred up regular carrots, baby carrots, used store-bought shredded carrot?