Description
Delicious carrot cake bars swirled with creamy, tangy cream cheese, creating a delightful balance of flavors and textures.
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
- 1 cup freshly grated carrots
- 4 ounces cream cheese (softened)
- 1 large egg yolk
- 0.5 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Prepare a 9×9-inch baking pan by greasing it with butter or lining it with parchment paper.
- Mix dry ingredients: whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Blend wet ingredients: in another bowl, beat together brown sugar, granulated sugar, and softened butter until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla extract, mixing until well combined.
- Combine mixtures: gradually blend dry ingredients into the wet mixture and fold in the grated carrots.
- Prepare cream cheese filling: beat cream cheese with granulated sugar and egg yolk until smooth.
- Layer the batter: pour half of the carrot cake batter into the prepared pan, spread the cream cheese mixture over it, then drop spoonfuls of remaining batter on top and swirl gently.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool the bars in the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before cutting into squares.
Notes
For a gluten-free version, substitute all-purpose flour with a gluten-free blend. Allow butter and cream cheese to come to room temperature for best results.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 250
- Sugar: 20g
- Sodium: 200mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 30g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 40mg