Carrot Cake Bars with Cheesecake Swirl
These carrot cake bars bake in one 9x13 pan, so you get carrot cake and a hint of cheesecake together without making two separate desserts. I swirl a cinnamon-spiced cheesecake batter through classic carrot cake batter, then finish it with a simple cinnamon glaze. One pan, one bake, both desserts.
Why These Carrot Cake Bars Are So Good
- I developed this one after getting tired of choosing between carrot cake and cheesecake at every spring gathering, so now I just bring both in one pan.
- Baking the cheesecake and cake batters together means one pan and one bake time instead of two separate desserts.
- As bars, there’s no layering, leveling, or frosting the sides, so they come together with a lot less effort than a tiered carrot cake.
- The cinnamon and nutmeg in both the cake and the cheesecake batter tie the layers together instead of tasting like two different desserts stacked on top of each other.
- A thin cinnamon glaze finishes them off without needing a full batch of frosting.
Ingredient Notes
- Carrots – 3 cups of finely grated carrots is about 1 pound unpeeled. Use the fine side of a box grater so the carrots blend smoothly into the batter and cook evenly.
- Oil – oil adds more moisture to the cake than creamed butter would, which is part of what keeps these bars from drying out.
- Cream cheese – use full-fat cream cheese, softened, for the smoothest cheesecake batter. Reduced-fat versions tend to have more liquid and won’t swirl the same way.
- Sour cream and heavy cream – both go into the cheesecake batter for a rich, dense texture. Don’t substitute a lower-fat dairy here, or the cheesecake won’t set up the same way.
How to Make Carrot Cake Bars with Cheesecake Swirl
- Mix the carrot cake batter – Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9×13 pan. Whisk together eggs, carrots, vanilla, and oil, then sift in the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Sifting keeps the batter smooth instead of leaving pockets of baking powder or flour. Pour into the pan.
- Make the cheesecake batter – Beat the cream cheese until smooth before adding anything else, so you don’t end up with lumps later. Beat in the sugar, then the egg, then the sour cream and heavy cream. Mix in the cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour last.
- Swirl the batters – Drop spoonfuls of cheesecake batter over the carrot cake batter. Use a small spatula or butter knife to gently swirl them together, dragging through just the top layer rather than digging deep, so you keep distinct ribbons instead of blending the two batters together. Keep the batter level across the pan so it bakes evenly.
- Bake – Bake for 43-45 minutes, until the center is set and no longer jiggly.
- Glaze – Whisk together powdered sugar, cinnamon, and warmed heavy cream until smooth. Warming the cream first helps the sugar dissolve so the glaze pours smoothly instead of staying gritty. Pipe or drizzle over the cooled bars.
Tips for Success
- Don’t overmix either batter. Overmixed cake batter turns dense, and overmixed cheesecake batter is more likely to crack.
- Swirl gently and stop as soon as you see a marbled pattern. Over-swirling blends the batters together instead of leaving distinct ribbons.
- Let the bars cool completely before slicing. Cutting into them while warm makes the cheesecake swirl soft and messy instead of holding clean lines.
How to Store Carrot Cake Bars
Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, since the cheesecake swirl means these bars need to stay chilled rather than sitting at room temperature. You can always warm it up in the microwave for just a few seconds.
More Sweet Recipes From Me
- Hummingbird Poke Cake
- Pumpkin Carrot Cake Streusel Donuts
- Cinnamon Roll Cake Roll
- Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake
- Salted Caramel Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Carrot Cake Bars with Cheesecake Swirl Recipe
These carrot cake bars bake in one 9×13 pan, so you get carrot cake and a hint of cheesecake together without making two separate desserts. I swirl a cinnamon-spiced cheesecake batter through classic carrot cake batter, then finish it with a simple cinnamon glaze. One pan, one bake, both desserts.
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Servings: 9
Calories: 449kcal
Ingredients
Carrot Cake:
- 4 eggs room temperature
- 3 cups finely grated carrots
- 3/4 cup veggie oil
- 2 Tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup white granulated sugar white granulated
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
Cheesecake Swirl:
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
Cinnamon Glaze:
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Grease a 9×13 baking pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, carrots, vanilla extract, and oil. Whisk very well until completely combined.
- Sift in flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Whisk well and pour into the prepared baking pan. Set aside.
- With electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and beat for a couple of minutes.
- Add egg and beat until combined.
- Add sour cream and heavy cream and beat until smooth. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl and beat for a couple more minutes.
- Add cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour. Beat until combined.
- Drop spoonfuls of cheesecake batter all over the carrot cake batter. Using a small spatula (or a butter knife), gently swirl cheesecake batter into carrot cake batter. Make sure that batter is even throughout the pan so it bakes evenly. If not, you can gently shake the pan to even it out.
- Bake for 43-45 minutes.
- To make the glaze, add powder sugar sugar and cinnamon to a small bowl. Add warmed heavy cream and whisk until all smooth. Place glaze into a piping bag. Cut off a small tip off the piping bag when ready to glaze the cake and drizzle the cake with cinnamon glaze.
Nutrition
Calories: 449kcal | Carbohydrates: 69g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 130mg | Sodium: 211mg | Potassium: 347mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 44g | Vitamin A: 7775IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 116mg | Iron: 2mg
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All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
Looks delicious. I wonder if I could sub zucchini in equal measure for carrots with no other changes.
Hi Sandra!
You can definitely try using zucchini. Use a fine grater just like you would on carrots, so it’s not a large grate of zucchini. Zucchini is also much juicier than a carrot, I would squeeze some of the liquid from grated zucchini but not all.
I hope it works out for you!
Let me know 🙂
Looks and sounds so yummy. Thank you Lyuba and Happy Easter.
Thank you, Liz, you too!