Carrot Cake Bars
Carrot cake bars are soft, spiced dessert squares topped with tangy cream cheese frosting—perfect for sharing, storing and snacking.
Servings: 9 bars
Equipment
- Baking Dish 8-Inch Square
- Electric Mixer with Whisk Attachment
Ingredients
For the Cake
- ½ Cup salted butter melted
- ½ Cup light brown sugar
- ½ Cup white granulated sugar
- 3 eggs large
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ Cup Greek yogurt plain
- 1 Cup carrots shredded
- 1 Cup walnuts chopped
- ½ Teaspoon baking powder
- ½ Teaspoon baking soda
- ½ Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ Teaspoon ground cloves
- 3 Cups all-purpose flour
For the Frosting
- 8 Ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- 2 ½ Cups powdered sugar
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ to 2 Tablespoons whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and coat an 8-inch baking pan with butter or nonstick cooking spray.
Make the Cake Batter
- Add your melted butter, granulated sugar and light brown sugar to a large mixing bowl. Use an electric hand mixer to cream the butter and sugar together until fully combined.
- Add the eggs, vanilla and Greek yogurt. Whisk again until the eggs are thoroughly beaten and combined with the creamed sugar.
- Gently whisk in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and cloves. Make sure no dry pockets remain in your batter.
- Gently fold the shredded carrots and chopped walnuts into the batter.
Bake the Carrot Cake Bars
- Pour your batter into the baking dish and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick can be cleanly removed from the center of the pan.
- Let the cake cool while you prepare the frosting.
Make the Frosting
- Whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, cream cheese, and ½ Tablespoon of milk.
- If your frosting is too thick to spread, you can add another 1 to 1 ½ Tablespoons of milk.
Frost the Cake Bars
- Spread the frosting over your cake and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes, then slice and serve.
Notes
Shred carrots finely: Freshly grated carrots in fine shreds helps them melt into the batter and keeps the texture smooth.
Grab a spatula: To get the remaining carrot cake batter out of the mixing bowl and into the prepared pan, and also for spreading the frosting over the bars.
Cool completely before frosting: Otherwise the frosting will melt and slide.
Adjust milk in the frosting gradually: A little goes a long way for the right spreadable consistency.
Use a serrated knife to slice: Helps create clean cuts without squishing the bars.
Chill to cut: Chilling your carrot cake bars before you slice them will help the frosting set up, giving you cleaner cuts.
Grab a spatula: To get the remaining carrot cake batter out of the mixing bowl and into the prepared pan, and also for spreading the frosting over the bars.
Cool completely before frosting: Otherwise the frosting will melt and slide.
Adjust milk in the frosting gradually: A little goes a long way for the right spreadable consistency.
Use a serrated knife to slice: Helps create clean cuts without squishing the bars.
Chill to cut: Chilling your carrot cake bars before you slice them will help the frosting set up, giving you cleaner cuts.
Nutrition
Calories: 673kcal | Carbohydrates: 94g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 108mg | Sodium: 285mg | Potassium: 243mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 58g | Vitamin A: 3116IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 102mg | Iron: 3mg
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