Carrot Cake Bars
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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:
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- 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 8×8 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
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Ingredients
Carrot Cake Bars
- 1/2 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
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup shredded carrots
Cheesecake Swirl
- 4 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8×8 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 1/2 cup 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 1 cup light brown sugar. Mix to combine.
- Stir in the1 large egg and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract.
- Add in the 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir until completely combined.
- Fold in the 1 cup shredded carrots. Set aside.
Cheesecake Swirl
- In a medium bowl, add in the 4 ounces cream cheese and 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Beat with a hand mixer until smooth.
- Add in the 1 large egg yolk and 3/4 teaspoon 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 angled 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.
Notes
Nutrition
(Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.)
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.
What kind of carrots did you use? Did you shred up regular carrots, baby carrots, used store-bought shredded carrot?
Hi, I’m wondering if this will be ok to double the recipe? Thanks!
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 🙂
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.
I add a small can of crushed pineapple (well drained) to this recipe. Oh my! Delicious!
The recipe calls for 1 tablespoonful of vanilla extract. Is this measurement correct?
Yep, but you can add less if you would like.
Can you use the pre bagged shredded carrots instead of grating carrots?
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.
Can I use carrot baby food instead of shredded carrots for this? If so, would 1 jar be enough?
Thanks,
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!
Can I use boxed carrot cake mix for this?
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!
Easy to make, way sweeter than I’d have liked.
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.
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!
I found the same on my first attempt and then realized I used a whole egg and not just the yolk in the cream cheese mixture.
Made the cream cheese super runny and unable to dollop. It just became an undercooked mess. 2nd time with just egg yolk was much better!