Carrot cake seems to be one of those very polarizing desserts- you either love it or hate it. I happen to be on the side of loving it, MJD seems to be on the side of hating it. I discovered that Nicholas however seems to be in my camp (smart boy š ) after working on this recipe for Carrot Cake Bars. Since he is allergic and we don’t keep nuts in our house, this version is nut free, but you could absolutely add nuts if you wanted to.
I’m planning to make these bars again for Easter weekend- even if it means just me and Nicholas will be sharing them. Do you have any special desserts you are making for Easter? Would love to hear!
PS- for my Easter tablescape details, make sure to check out this post as well!
xoxo, Jenna
You’ll Need:
Makes one 13 x 9 pan cake
Cake:
- 1 and 1/4 cups vegetable oil
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and a 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- Two cups grated carrots ( I use a food processor to do this to make it easier)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 of a cup raisins
- Can also add 1 cup of chopped nuts- I did not due to allergies
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1/2 of a cup (one stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 8 ounces (one standard size block) cream cheese, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 cups powdered sugar
To Make:
Preheat oven to 375 Degrees F.
Mix oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large mixing bowl until well combined.
Combine all dry ingredients- flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg- into a mixing bowl.
Add dry ingredients to oil, sugar and egg mixture until combined.
Stir in grated carrots and raisins.
Pour cake batter into a greased 13 x 9 cake pan.
Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool cake completely before frosting.
To make the frosting, using a hand or stand mixer, beat the softened cream cheese, butter and vanilla while gradually adding in the powdered sugar until smooth and forming soft peaks.
Spread on top of cooled cake.
Cut in to squares and serve!