Description
Delightful Carrot Cake Cream Cheese Bars combine moist carrot cake with a rich cream cheese swirl for a satisfying dessert.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 0.5 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 0.5 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 0.5 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 large egg
- 0.5 cup unsalted butter (melted)
- 1 cup freshly grated carrots
- 4 ounces cream cheese (softened)
- 1 large egg yolk
- 0.5 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease a baking pan (8×8 inches works great).
- Mix dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt.
- Incorporate wet ingredients: Add the melted butter, whole egg, and vanilla extract to the dry mixture. Stir until just combined.
- Fold in the carrots: Gently mix in the grated carrots until evenly distributed.
- Prepare the cream cheese layer: In a separate bowl, beat together the softened cream cheese, sugar, and egg yolk until smooth.
- Layer the mixture: Pour half of the carrot cake batter into the prepared pan, followed by the cream cheese mixture, and top with the remaining carrot cake batter.
- Swirl: Use a knife to gently swirl the cream cheese layer into the carrot batter for a marbled effect.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool and slice: Let the bars cool in the pan for a bit before slicing into squares.
Notes
For best results, use freshly grated carrots and allow cream cheese to come to room temperature.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 220
- Sugar: 12g
- Sodium: 200mg
- Fat: 11g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 28g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 30mg