Deliciously dense and chewy carrot cake blondies with a rich and tangy cheesecake swirl!
With Carrot Cake being one of my most favorite cakes ever, I’m always trying to figure out ways to incorporate its wonderful flavors into something new or different. This week, I decided to attempt blondies.
Not to be confused with Carrot Cake Bars, which are pretty much the same as carrot cake, but cut into squares. I basically wanted a brownie version of Carrot Cake–dense, fudgy, and chewy, which is exactly the result of these Carrot Cake Blondies…
They’ve got all the components of traditional Carrot Cake, but in blondie form. They’re also ten times easier to make than a whole entire cake, and they come together in very little time!
The batter starts off simply by combining some melted butter and brown sugar. I used all brown sugar in these blondies for not only its delicious maple flavor, but also the extra moisture it provides to baked goods. I then added the usual ingredients–egg, vanilla, flour, and salt. As for the spices, I kept it simple by only adding cinnamon and just a pinch of ground cloves. Some people like to add nutmeg or ginger, but I wanted the focus to be on the sweetness of the carrots rather than the spices. Speaking of…
Freshly-grated carrots is the ONLY way to go when it comes to anything carrot cake-related. Not only do they provide much more flavor and moisture than the store-bought grated carrots, but the finer grate allows them to melt into the batter better. It’s amazing how much natural sweetness just 3/4 of a cup of freshly-grated carrots can lend to a dessert.
While a lot of Carrot Cake recipes call for raisins or pineapple, I decided to keep things simple yet again by leaving them out. I did, however, add chopped pecans to the batter for a nice little crunch. I believe walnuts are the more traditional nut in Carrot Cake, but I prefer the flavor of pecans so much more.
As opposed to topping these blondies with a cream cheese frosting, I instead added a rich and creamy cheesecake swirl. Similar to cream cheese frosting, the cheesecake swirl provides an extra tang and sweetness which is complimentary to Carrot Cake, only it’s denser and baked into the blondies. The intertwining textures of fudgy blondies with smooth and creamy cheesecake is absolutely TO-DIE-FOR, people.
These Carrot Cake Blondies are also perfect for those who aren’t into overly sweet or rich treats. They’ve got the perfect amount of sweetness and flavor from the carrots, and the perfect touch of spice from the cinnamon and cloves. And of course, you can’t forget the lusciously sweet and tangy cheesecake swirl to round it ALL out.
Carrot Cake Blondies
Ingredients
Cheesecake Swirl:
- 5 ounces cream cheese
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Blondies:
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¾ cup finely grated carrots
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Pinch of cloves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper, and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Make the Cheesecake Swirl:
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth, about 1 minute. Add egg and vanilla and continue beating until combined; set aside.
Make the Blondies:
- In a large mixing bowl, stir the butter and brown sugar together until combined. Whisk in the egg and vanilla. Stir in the carrots and pecans. Add the flour, cinnamon, salt, and cloves and stir until just combined.
- Pour 2/3 of the blondie batter into prepared pan. Spoon about 3/4 of the cheesecake batter in random dollops all over the blondie batter. Pour the remaining blondie batter on top of the cheesecake batter, followed by dollops of the remaining cheesecake batter.
- Using a knife or skewer, sparingly swirl figure-eights throughout the pan. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the center is set, and not jiggly when you gently shake it. Allow blondies to cool completely before removing and slicing into squares.