These Carrot Cake Bars are the perfect Easter dessert. Made with fresh carrots, warm spices, and a totally delicious homemade cream cheese frosting.
Table of contents
What I love about this carrot cake recipe is that it uses 3 FULL cups of shredded carrots. Because why else would you make a carrot dessert that wasn’t loaded down with this tasty vegetable?
I’ve made this every year for Easter (and many other family celebrations and holidays) and let’s just say that this is now my “go-to” dish to take to all the family functions.
If you’re looking for a simple carrot cake dessert, you really can’t top this one. From start to finish it takes just over an hour to make which isn’t long at all for this delicious treat!
This Carrot Cake Bar recipe is…
- Great for sneaking in extra veggies to the family meal plan
- Delicious and full of flavor
- Easy ingredients you might have in the pantry
- Great for serving friends or your family
- Freezer friendly
- To die for carrot cake recipe
- Topped with creamy homemade frosting
- A simple dessert for anyone to make
- Easy Easter dessert
- Fresh carrot recipe
🍰 Ingredients
- Sugar
- All-purpose flour
- Allspice
- Cinnamon
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Vegetable oil
- Eggs
- Carrots
- Powdered Sugar
- Butter
- Cream Cheese
- Vanilla extract
🥕 How to Make
Step 1: Mix the dry ingredients, together. Then add in eggs and vegetable oil, and the carrots.
Step 2: Pour carrot cake batter into the greased baking pan and cook in the oven. Bake as directed.
Step 3: Allow the carrot cake bars to cool on a cooling rack until cooled. Then you can move to the cream cheese frosting.
Step 3: Mix all the cream cheese frosting ingredients together until creamy. Then top the cooled carrot cake bars. Slice and serve.
🍽️ Storage
You’re going to want to store the carrot cake squares in an airtight container and put them in your fridge. Since this recipe has cream cheese frosting, it does need to be kept cool.
Can you freeze carrot cake?
If you’re going to freeze carrot cake, do so without the frosting. The cream cheese portion isn’t going to freeze well and I don’t recommend it. But if you freeze just the baked cake unfrosted, it should do just fine!
📌Expert Tips
- Make certain that the cream cheese is softened or you’re going to have lumps. Setting it out about 30 minutes ahead of time should give it time to soften to room temperature.
- If you don’t have a grater for your carrot, your food processor can work just fine as well. You just need to be certain that you’re getting the carrot chopped into fine pieces so that you aren’t getting mega chunks of carrots in the cake.
- It’s super important to let the cake cool completely before frosting it or the icing will literally melt away into the cake. While it might taste amazing, it’s not going to look good!
- Keep in mind that if you’re wanting your cream cheese frosting to be creamy, you are going to want to mix it with an electric mixer. Hand mixing just isn’t going to cut it.
Those are just a few simple tips that I’ve learned along the way when I’ve made these carrot cake squares.
I love to pass along what I learn from my mistakes so you don’t make them, too!
🍮Variations to Recipe
Here are some variations to this carrot cake cream cheese bars recipe. Carrot bars are versatile, here are some simple changes.
- Adding walnuts to your carrot cake bars can be a lot of fun, too. It’s a nice texture to have walnuts mixed in with the frosting or even mixed in with the cake! Some people do pecans as well – just be certain that whatever nuts you use, you crush them up and add them!
- Another delicious ingredient that you can add to the frosting is shredded coconut. I prefer to add in sweetened shredded coconut as it’s just another super fun texture.
- There are also some people that add raisins to the cake, so if you’re a fan of that idea, give it a try!
- Skip the cream cheese frosting and serve with whipped cream or a dusting of powdered sugar.
- Make a cream cheese swirl to swirl in cake bars, instead of frosting, to make a cheesecake bar.
- Drizzle with white chocolate for this Easter treat instead of the frosting.
- Add a tablespoon of lemon juice to cream cheese for a lemon twist of flavor.
👩🍳FAQs About Carrot Cake Recipe
More Carrot Cake Recipes To Try
- Easy Carrot Cake Fudge
- Layered Carrot Cake Cheesecake Cake
- Carrot Cake Waffles
- Best Carrot Cake Dip
- Simple Carrot Cake Cookies
Carrot Cake Bars
Ingredients
Supplies
Carrot Cake Bar Ingredients
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
- 3 cups grated carrots
Cream Cheese Icing
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 8 tablespoons butter softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla or orange extract
Instructions
- Start by greasing 8×11 inch pan and preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Now you will add flour, allspice, cinnamon baking soda, salt in a bowl and whisk till combined.
- Add in your oil, and eggs and mix well till combined.
- Pour in the grated carrots, and fold into the batter.
- Now you will pour your carrot cake batter into your grased pan and bake in the center rack for 25-30 minutes or until the carrot cake bars are done. Stick a toothpick in the center to ensure no batter comes out clean of wet batter.
- Place your carrot cake squares on a cooling rack to completely cool.
- When your bars are cool you can mix your cream cheese frosting ingredients together with a mixer. Make sure the cream cheese is softened or it won’t cream properly.
- Spread the cream cheese frosting on top, then store your carrot cake bars in the refrigerator covered, till you are ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
did you make this recipe?
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Let me know how you like these carrot cake bars with cream cheese.
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