Description
Enjoy these Carrot Cake Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting, featuring moist carrots, crushed pineapple, and a creamy topping—ideal for any dessert occasion!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1¼ cups unsweetened applesauce or oil
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 cups grated carrots
- 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
- 1 cup chopped nuts (pecans optional)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup crushed pineapple (not drained)
- ½ cup salted butter (softened)
- 8 ounces cream cheese (softened)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pound powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and prepare a baking pan.
- In a large bowl, mix the applesauce (or oil) and granulated sugar until combined.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition.
- In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing until just combined.
- Fold in the grated carrots, shredded coconut, chopped nuts, vanilla extract, and crushed pineapple.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- While baking, prepare the cream cheese frosting by mixing softened cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar until smooth.
- Once the bars are cool, spread cream cheese frosting evenly over the top.
Notes
For added flavor, try adding a pinch of nutmeg to the batter.
For a gluten-free version, swap all-purpose flour with a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend.
You can refrigerate the bars to set the frosting before slicing.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 210
- Sugar: 17g
- Sodium: 180mg
- Fat: 9g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 32g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 50mg