Take a wintery spice cake, add some carrots and cream cheese and voila! Spring! # 257: Carrot Cake with Cheesecake Swirl

Are you a carrot cake person? Similar to fruit cake, it seems to be an all-or-nothing situation.

Carrots have a secret: they masquerade as a savory vegetable but they’re actually really sweet! They’re full of natural sugars, and used to be added to medieval puddings (desserts) when other sweeteners were too expensive.

It gets a bad rap from mass-produced versions that are dry, bland and studded with large slivers of raw carrot. Grating the carrots helps them meld into the batter like magic. Plus, a little fairy dust (aka cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg) never hurts!

I was going for a carrot cake inspired cheesecake bar, and by the time I popped it in the oven, it had turned into a cheesecake swirl quick bread in a petit cake pan. There are no rules in this kitchen!

Aren’t they so cute? Mini rainbow carrot lineup.

I riffed on the recipe a little, boosting the spices and adding chopped pecans (because yum!) Also, if you’re grating rainbow carrots, you will dye your cutting board purple. You have been warned.

Love a melted butter recipe so I can hand mix it all in one big bowl.

The purple carrots kind of look like raisins! If you go the raisin route, soak them a little first. Nobody wants raisin black holes that take all the joy out of a cake.

I included the egg white in the cheesecake mixture because I didn’t feel like having a lonely egg white in my fridge. The added moisture made it thinner and sacrificed my vision of distinct cheesecake swirls. C’est la vie! Still delicious.

I don’t remember who, but someone on Great British Bake Off made baby carrots by slicing down mini carrots with tops and I’ve wanted to try it ever since! So cute, I’m obsessed.

The lil carrots would stand out better if I can a frosting topping, but I didn’t want to gild the lily.

Happy munching!

Recipe inspired by: https://www.cookiedoughandovenmitt.com/carrot-cake-bars/ (added ginger and nutmeg, baked it in one round 6” pan and included the egg white in the cheesecake mixture)