Swirled carrot cake cheesecake bars give you the flavor of carrot cake and cheesecake in one easy-to-slice dessert. Made with warm spices, fresh grated carrots, and a smooth cream cheese layer, they bake up in a single pan with no need for frosting. Perfect for making ahead, they chill beautifully and cut cleanly for Easter, brunch, or any spring gathering.
The Easier Way to Get Carrot Cake and Cheesecake
While I love a soft and moist carrot cake, I don’t always want to deal with layers, frosting, and a cake that has to be handled just right to look decent. These bars solve that problem.
You still get the warm spices and fresh carrots, but instead of a traditional cake, it’s pressed into a pan and layered with a creamy cheesecake filling. No stacking, no frosting, nothing fussy. Just slice-and-serve.
The texture is a little different from a cake. The base is closer to a soft blondie, which holds up better and makes these easy to cut cleanly. As it bakes, the top settles into the cheesecake layer, giving you those swirls and pockets of creaminess in every bite.
While most dessert bars are firm and crumbly, these are soft and creamy, but still firm enough to eat with your hands. The texture is similar to raspberry cream cheese brownies.
They’re one of those desserts that I like to cut into small squares and freeze. The cheesecake layer keeps them soft enough that you can grab a sweet treat without having to wait for it to thaw.
Warm Spices, Fresh Carrots, and Cream Cheese
You’ll find exact amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice: This mix gives the bars their carrot cake flavor.
- Carrots: Finely grate the carrots so they blend into the batter more evenly. The bagged shredded carrots are usually too thick for this recipe.
Build It Right in the Pan
Start with the Carrot Cake Base
Mix Up the Creamy Layer
Layer It All Together
Don’t worry about perfect coverage: The top layer settles as it bakes and gives you that swirled look.
Bake Until It Still Has a Little Jiggle
Don’t overbake: The center should still move a little since it will firm up more as it cools and chills.
These are at their best once they’ve had time to chill, so they’re ideal for making the day before you need them.
Cut them into small squares for a dessert tray, or larger bars if you’re serving them as the main dessert. They travel well, hold their shape, and don’t need anything added on top.
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Equipment
Ingredients
- ¾ cups butter softened
- ¾ cups light brown sugar
- ⅔ cups sugar
- 1 eggs
- 2 cups flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoons ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon allspice
- ¾ cups lightly packed grated carrot about 2 carrots
CHEESECAKE
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons flour
- 1 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º. Line an 8 x 8 metal baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars until fluffy, about 3 minutes, Add an egg and beat until combined.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. Gradually add flour to the butter mixture, beating just until combined. Beat in carrots.
- In a separate bowl beat cream cheese with a hand mixer or a clean bowl of a stand mixer, until smooth. Add sugar, and flour and beat. Add an egg and beat until well combined, add vanilla.
- Spread 2 cups of the carrot mixture into the prepared pan and pat down covering the entire bottom of the pan. Top with the cheesecake layer. Crumble the remaining carrot mixture on the top.
- Bake until the edges are set and the center jiggles only slightly, 30-35 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cutting.
Notes
- Finely grate the carrots for a smoother texture, the pre-grated carrots are too thick for these bars.
- The pan will need to refrigerate at least 2 hours before cutting.
- You can easily double the recipe and bake in a 9 x 13 pan.
- Bake these in a metal pan, if using glass, you will need to adjust the time.
