Classic carrot cake and cream cheese icing all in one handy little bite is a fantastic spring and Easter recipe, and that’s what you get with these moist and flavorful bars. I’ve jazzed it up here with a little extra spice and brown butter. If I were the Easter Bunny (and who’s to say I am not?) I’d love a little basket of these special treats.
Brown butter makes everything better and by pouring it over the spices, the spices bloom and release as much flavor as possible. If you don’t have a heat proof mixing bowl (the butter is very hot), you can do this in a measuring jug or bowl and then pour it onto a larger bowl. Don’t be tempted to buy a bag of grated carrots, they get tough and dry sitting on the shelf. When making the cream cheese mixture, everything really does need to be room temperature. You can blitz the cream cheese in the microwave for 15 – 20 seconds and place the egg in a cup of warm water to speed things up, but it is better to just wait a few hours with everything on the counter. If your cream cheese mix is a little fluid and doesn’t dollop so much as pour, that’s ok. You’ll have more of a cream cheese top layer, but it is still delicious.
Ingredients
- For the Bars
¾ cups (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 ¼ cups light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 egg yolk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
1 ½ cups grated carrot (from about 2 large)
1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
- For the Cream Cheese
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 large egg, at room temperature
¼ cup granulated sugar
Directions
- For the Bars
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8 by 8-inch baking pan with nonstick foil or parchment paper.
- Cut the butter into small pieces and place in a medium saucepan (light colored or stainless is best so you can see the butter as it browns). Heat over medium high heat, watching constantly, until the butter is melted. It will start to spit and hiss, then you will see brown speckles appear. While the butter is browning, put the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves in large heatproof mixing bowl. Swirl the butter around to distribute the browned bits, and as soon as the butter has an even brown color and a nice nutty smell, pour it over the spices and stir. Let cool for about 10 minutes (you can grate the carrots while you wait). Add the brown sugar and stir, then add the egg and yolk and vanilla and stir to combine. Stir in the grated carrots. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and stir just until there are no visible streaks of dry ingredients. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread to even the top.
- For the Cream Cheese
- Put the room temperature cream cheese and egg in a small bowl with the sugar and beat with a fork until smooth and combined. Dollop the cream cheese over the top of the batter, then use a knife to swirl it through. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes until a tester inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging. Cool in the pan, then lift out and cut into squares.
Leave a Reply