Carrot Cake Bars
Total Time
55 minutes
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
35 minutes
Rating
4.8 out of 5 stars
(33)
Ingredients
9 servings
- 3/4 cup avocado oil (or vegetable oil, or any mild-flavored oil)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- pinch of ground cloves
- 8 ounces finely-grated* fresh carrots
- optional: 1/2 cup chopped nuts or 1/4 cup raisins
- 1 (8-ounce) package low-fat cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups sifted powdered sugar (use more/less to achieve your desired consistency)
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Preparation
Step 1
Prep oven and baking dish
Step 2
Heat oven to 350°F. Mist a 9×9-inch baking dish with cooking spray, and set it aside for later.
Step 3
Mix the wet ingredients
Step 4
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until combined and smooth. Add in the eggs and vanilla, and whisk until smooth.
Step 5
Mix the dry ingredients
Step 6
In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, nutmeg and cloves) until combined.
Step 7
Combine
Step 8
Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture into the egg mixture, and stir until smooth. Fold in the grated carrots and stir until combined. If you would like to add nuts and/or raisins, stir them in at this time as well. Pour the batter into the baking dish, and spread it out evenly.
Step 9
Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the baking dish to a wire cooling rack and let it cool until the cake reaches room temperature.
Step 10
Make the frosting
Step 11
Meanwhile in a separate mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until evenly combined. Gradually add in the powdered sugar and stir until smooth. Feel free to add more/less powdered sugar to achieve your desired frosting consistency.
Step 12
Frost and serve.
Step 13
Once the cake has cooled, spread it evenly with the cream cheese frosting. Then slice, serve and enjoy!
Step 14
Save recipe for the next time?
