A running joke in our family is the time that my mother in law made my son “carrot cake” for his birthday celebration at her house. He was little and had a hard time picking a kind of cake, so she teased him and said if he didn’t pick she’d make him carrot cake. Of course, as a five year old he was terrified but still just could not make up his mind.
On the day of his celebration, we went to her house and she told him exactly what he was hoping NOT to hear- she’d made him “carrot cake” for his birthday. He tried to hide his disappointment as he followed her to the kitchen, where lo and behold she had a lone carrot covered in chocolate frosting. He tried it to make her happy and apparently it actually wasn’t bad- who knew?!
Of course, she had really gotten him a chocolate cake, so he was happy as can be after that. But carrot cake really is a favorite of a couple of people in our family, so it was time to share a recipe for REAL carrot cake- not just chocolate frosting-dipped carrots!
This recipe is a bit of a take on Carrot Cake- they’re more like Carrot Cake Bars. They’re thick and rich and perfect for spring celebrations, especially Easter! The optional but highly recommended adorable carrot decorations on top are simple to create and make these perfectly portionable for parties or bake sales, too.
Is this a simple carrot cake recipe?
Yes! Well, like I said they’re more like carrot cake bars since it’s nice and thick and rich, but it’s definitely simple! You just have to mix your dry ingredients, mix your wet ingredients, combine and bake. Since these are bars and not cupcakes, decorating them is super easy- just slather on your homemade icing and add these SUPER simple carrots.
Not up for the carrots? That’s fine too! These carrot cake bars are delicious and the flavor is so great, no one needs the carrot to know what they are!
How can you make vegan carrot cake bars?
This recipe is already vegetarian of course, but it does contain a few dairy based ingredients- butter, eggs, and cream cheese. The best way to swap these ingredients to make this recipe vegan would be to use plant-based butter, egg, and cream cheese options from the grocery store.
I wouldn’t recommend any other baking hacks to make these vegan as they really need something just like butter, eggs and cream cheese in order to get the texture and consistency that makes them bars. But I have used plant-based alternatives for all three items in my baking before and they have always turned out great!
You can find plant-based alternatives at stores like Sprouts, Trader Joe’s, and maybe even your local grocery store. My local Smith’s {owned by Kroger} carries their own brand of plant-based options and they are all great!
Can the Kids Help Make these Carrot Cake Dessert Bars?
Kids can ALWAYS help in the kitchen! For this recipe, I’d suggest letting them help with:
- Whisking the dry ingredients
- Beating the wet ingredients
- Spreading the icing on top
- Making the carrot decorations {depending on age/skill}
I’d also suggest that you help a little extra with:
- Making the icing
- Folding in the carrots
- Cutting the bars
- And of course, anything with the oven or the electric beaters/stand mixer!
What Supplies Do You Need to Make Carrot Cake Bars?
To make these delicious and easy Carrot Cake Dessert Bars, you’ll need:
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- Parchment Paper
- 8×8 Baking Pan
- Medium Bowl
- Whisk
- Large Bowl
- Electric hand mixer or stand mixer
- Silicone spatula for folding in carrots- works for spreading icing, too!
- Toothpicks
- 2 small bowls for the icing {cereal bowls are fine for this}
- Orange food coloring + Green food coloring
- Piping Bags
Step by Step Photos
Want a little extra help figuring out what to do? Print out the recipe from the bottom of the post, then scroll to this spot to follow along with these step by step photos!
Hungry for More Recipes?
Want more delicious cookie bar recipes? Try these:
- Lemon Cookie Bars
- Kitchen Sink Cookie Bars
- Sugar Cookie S’mores Bars
- Magic Mint Bars
- Pumpkin Spice Dessert Bars
Carrot Cake Bars
These delicious, rich and moist carrot cake bars are a great recipe for celebrating springtime and especially Easter!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- For the icing:
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 4 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- Orange and green food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper. Spray with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ginger, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.
- Add half the dry ingredients and beat until mixed, then add the remaining dry ingredients and beat until smooth.
- Fold in the shredded carrots.
- Spread the batter in the prepared baking pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
- Allow the cake bars to cool completely, then prepare the icing by beating together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, beating between each addition.
- Separate a small amount of the icing into two separate bowls. Add the orange food coloring to one bowl and the green food coloring to the other bowl. Stir until the coloring is mixed into the icing, then transfer each color to a piping bag.
- Remove the cake bars from the pan by pulling the edges of the parchment paper up. Spread the remaining icing over the top of the cake bars and cut the bars into 12 pieces.
- Decorate the top of each cake bar with a carrot using the orange and green icing.
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