Carrot Cake Cheesecake Bars

Spiced carrot cake and creamy vanilla bean cheesecake collide to make an irresistible treat with gorgeous swirls on top. Great for Spring and special occasions!

Course Dessert

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 35

Total Time 50

Servings bars

Calories 263kcal

Author Tawnie Graham of Kroll's Korner

Ingredients

For the carrot cake

1 1/3 cup all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
3/4 cup oil (canola, vegetable)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed (light or dark)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups peeled and grated carrots (grated on small holes on box grater)

For the cheesecake

2 (8 oz.) packages full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
2 Tbsp. sour cream, room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla bean paste or 2 tsp. vanilla extract if you don't have paste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
Make the carrot cake batter: In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
In another bowl, whisk together the oil, white sugar, brown sugar, applesauce, vanilla and eggs.
Add the wet into dry, fold until almost all combined.
Stir in the carrots. Do not over mix. Set aside.
Make the cheesecake: beat the cream cheese and sour cream for 1-2 min, using a hand held mixer or stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Then add sugar and vanilla, mix again.
Then add eggs 1 at a time on medium low speed.
Pour half of the carrot cake batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. It will seem like a thin layer, it's OK.
Dollop all of the cheesecake over the carrot cake.
Then spoon dollops of the remaining carrot cake batter over the cheesecake.
Swirl with a butter knife to get those big gorgeous swirls. Don't over do it though. Less is more!
Bake for 35-40 minutes.
*Note: when recipe testing, I noticed after baking and cooling, the top of the bars sunk and looked a little wonky because of the carrot cake swirl. Please be aware this might happen to yours too. Once cut into bars, it's not really noticeable and the swirls look so pretty, so I chose to keep the recipe like that. See recipe notes below if you want to layer the bars differently to get a more smooth top (but with no swirls on top).
Allow to cool completely at room temperature. Chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight.
Cut into squares, cleaning knife in between cuts (or you can run knife under warm water or even spray with non stick spray to get prettier slices) and enjoy!

Video

Notes

Storage: 4-5 days in the fridge, and 2-3 months in the freezer.
*If you want your bars to look flat on top, I also tested the recipe by layering the ingredients like this: half the carrot cake, half of the cheesecake, remaining carrot cake, and then the remaining cheesecake on top and I skipped the swirling. It baked evenly and looks less "bumpy" on top.
I have not tested this recipe in another other sized pans. If you do, drop a comment in the comment section letting me know how it goes! 🙂

Nutrition