Swirled Carrot Cake Cheesecake Bars with Cream Cheese

If you enjoy carrot cake, you have to try my cheesecake carrot cake bars! These are homemade carrot cake base, made with freshly grated carrots, nuts, and warm spices, then swirled with a cheesecake batter and baked up perfectly.

Slice and serve up these carrot cake cheesecake bars for an Easter dessert or when you get a hankering for carrot cake. 

The cheesecake layer is truly the perfect complement to the carrot cake bars. It is a twist to a cream cheese frosting but with a rich and velvety texture.

Pair with a warm cup of coffee or tea, and devour these bars till the last crumb. 

Warm spices, a tangy and creamy cheesecake layer, and a moist carrot cake bar that literally leaves you wanting one more bite. A must make for spring parties that will always end up as a huge hit. 

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Be sure to check out more of my favorite bar recipes: Strawberry Magic Bars, Hello Dolly Bars, or my M&M Cookie bars. All of these are some of our favorite desserts for serving up a crowd. 

A recent crowd favorite has been these tart and tangy Lemon Sugar cookies and Frosted Lemon Sugar cookies both rolled in infused lemon zest sugar.

Shopping List 

Wet Ingredients. Butter, Egg, Vanilla, Carrots, Cream Cheese. 

Dry Ingredients. Brown Sugar, Granulated Sugar, All Purpose Flour, Baking Soda, Ground Cinnamon, Salt. 

How to Make Carrot Cake Cheesecake Bars 

Start preheating your oven at 350 degrees and then line a 9x9 baking pan with parchment paper. Then set it to the side. 

It's easiest to create a large square larger than the pan itself and cut slits in the corner of the parchment paper to fit around the corners.

Mixing Ingredients

Next, you will grab a microwave-safe bowl, and melt butter.  It's easiest to slice butter into 1 tablespoon pats and microwave for 20-30 seconds until the butter is mostly melted.

Stir and the hot butter will melt the remaining pieces.

Once the butter is melted add to a stand mixer or a large bowl. Mix with a paddle attachment and add in the brown sugar. Blend to cream the ingredients. 

Add in the large egg and vanilla. 

Then in a medium bowl add your dry ingredients in. Mix to combine. Then slowly fold the dry ingredients into the wet. 

Once well mixed fold in the carrots and nuts. 

In a separate large bowl combine softened cream cheese with sugar and vanilla and mix on low to medium speed until combined.

Spread half the carrot cake batter in the pan, in an even layer. 

Then spoon the cheesecake filling over the bottom of the pan. 

Drop spoonfuls of the carrot cake mixture over the cheesecake mixture in the pan. 

With a dull butter knife swirl the batter together in a ribbon pattern. 

Bake as directed, and once the bars are done, allow them to cool on a wire rack. 

The parchment paper will make them easy to remove from the pan and slice into bars.

Slicing into Bars Tip

Carrot Cake Bars are moist which can make them difficult to slice. Make sure the bars are fully cooled before slicing.

It even helps to chill the bars in the refrigerator for an hour or more before slicing for best results.

Use a sharp long knife and clean blade between cuts for best results.

Storing 

Refrigerator: Any of the bars you do not eat can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. These bars will last up to 5 days in the fridge.

You can eat them straight from the fridge! The bars will spoil if you leave them at room temperature. 

Freeze: Or if want you can also freeze the bars. Simply place any bars you don't plan to eat right away in a freezer container. If you want to stack the bars, place wax paper between the layers to prevent them from sticking.

Then freeze for 3-4 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight until you are ready to eat them. 

Variations To Recipe 

Nuts: If you are not a fan of nuts you are more than welcome to leave the nuts out of the carrot cake cream cheese bars. Just mix in the shredded carrots and skip adding the nuts. 

White Chocolate Chips: Consider adding ½ cup of white chocolate chips to the carrot cake layer. It will add extra sweetness to the bars when you slice and serve them up. 

Lemon: Add a little lemon zest and a tablespoon of lemon juice to the cheesecake batter to give it a tangy cheesecake flavor. I love the sharp bite of lemon in the cream cheese layer. 

Tips for Success 

Electric Mixer or Stand Mixer 

To ensure the batter for the cheesecake mixture and the carrot cake mixture both get fully mixed I recommend using a stand mixer or hand mixer with a mixing bowl. It will help cream the ingredients properly.

Especially with the cheesecake filling, you want it to be extra creamy. 

Scraping Bowl 

Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl to remove any stuck ingredients that might be on the sides. Also, scrape the bottom of the bowl to make sure all the ingredients get fully incorporated.

This is a step some bakers overlook when they are beginners in the kitchen. 

Quality Ingredients 

Make sure to use quality ingredients when you are baking. It is going to help ensure you get the perfect dessert that is loaded with rich and sweet flavors.

If you use lower-quality ingredients you can find sometimes the recipe might lack flavor. All are simple ingredients that you will be able to find at the grocery store. 

Fold in Dry Ingredients 

It is important to put the dry ingredients in their own bowl and mix well. Then slowly mix in the flour mixture with the wet ingredients. This is going to ensure the dry ingredients incorporate well in the batter.

If you just dump the ingredients in without placing them in a separate bowl you might find they don't incorporate as evenly in the batter. 

Weighing Ingredients.

Baking is a science and adding too much or too little of any of the ingredients will alter the recipe. Weighing and measuring dry ingredients properly makes a world of difference. Investing in a kitchen scale is ideal. When a kitchen scale is not available, make sure to stir and lift ingredients before scooping them into a measuring cup.

	Volume	Ounces	Grams
All Purpose Flour	1 Cup	4½ Ounces	120 Grams
Bread Flour	1 Cup	4½ Ounces	120 Grams
Granulated Sugar	1 Cup	7 Ounces	200 Grams
Brown Sugar	1 Cup	7½ Ounces	213 Grams
Confectionary Sugar	1 Cup	4 Ounces	113 Grams

Have you tried this Heath Bar Toffee Bits Cookies recipe?

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