Marbled Carrot Cake Cheesecake Bars

I’m a little late to the spring party, and I think Oklahoma is, too.

It’s been 30-40 degrees the past few nights. I haven’t managed to venture outside in 2-3 days since my allergies have been going haywire. I’m missing the little blossoms on the trees, the weeds that are in bloom, and the cheery chirps from the fat robins that hang out in my yard.

Easter has come and gone, and it’s only a matter of time until summer replaces spring. I’m trying to get in the spring spirit, I truly am, but I’m not able to stock up on produce since I only go to the grocery store about once a month now. This time of year my blog is usually full or asparagus, pea, and fresh herb recipes. Spring harvest is alway a rite of passage from the tubor-and-citrus laden winter months to the green-and-bright produce months.

I’ve got nothing, though. I’ve been surviving off a pot of beans for two weeks now. If a pot of beans doesn’t scream coronavirus spring to you, I don’t know what will.

I know it’s post-Easter, but I did have a chance to make this carrot cake last weekend. I’ve had a bag of carrots in my crisper drawer for a while now and they needed to be used up.

I’m not going to lie–I originally tried to make this recipe with pre-shredded carrots you can buy at the store.

It was a disaster.

Thankfully, I had enough flour and sugar to start over again. Shred you carrots yourself, please! The bagged kind in the produce section are too large and will make your cake mixture lumpy and crunchy.

I really liked these cheese cake bars, but they are rich. Who knew having a cake base on a cheesecake would be so heavy? Just kidding. Everyone probably knows that.

These bars are a delightful little treat, though. I thoroughly enjoyed the cheesecake combination with the spice cake base.

Enjoy!

Step-By-Step Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, sift together 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking soda. Stir in oil, 2 eggs, vanilla and carrots mixing well.

Spread half of the mixture on the bottom of a greased 13×9″ pan. Reserve other half of the batter.

In a stand mixer, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in sugar on medium speed until well blended. Slowly add in milk, flour, and eggs, one at a time while beating on low speed until well blended.

Drop spoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture on top of the carrot cake batter in the pan. Drop spoonfuls of reserved carrot cake mixture on top as well. Use a knife to swirl both mixtures together, giving it a marbled appearance.

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan before cutting into bars.