Carrot cake is amazing. I feel like we can all agree. Yes? Yes. Now that that is out of the way, let us talk about the best carrot cake type dessert I have ever tasted. These vegan carrot cake cheesecake bars. They are wonderful, and make me so happy! My daughter is a vegetarian, not vegan, so she eats eggs and dairy, and is free to taste many samples when we go to the store. She is a big fan of Costco on Sundays when they have a million samples. They had carrot cake the other day, and she ate two samples. I had to put a fake mustache on to get back in line(jk). Which got me thinking about how amazing carrot cake is.
I used to live very close to a Cheesecake Factory. When I was also just a vegetarian, I would spend large amounts of time perusing their cheesecake case. Well, they have a carrot cake cheesecake that is to die for. I have not eaten it in years, and decided to prove to myself as part of my mission, that I could make something plant-based that was just as good.
Success. I promise. Not only does the smell of this baking make your mouth water, it looks so damn good, and tastes just as good. It is also so incredibly easy. I used vegan cream cheese, and no cashews, making this not only quick, but it tastes more like cheese cake than any other vegan cheesecake I have tried!
The carrot cake crust and topping is made similar to a crumble, so, it can just be pushed down into the pan, and then once the cream cheese spread has been put on top, you can crumble the rest on top of that. You don’t have to worry about trying to spread the remaining dough on to the cream cheese. That always stumps me. I am forever mucking up layered desserts. This one is pretty foolproof.
Spring is one of my favorite times, I love the flowers and baby animals. I love spring fruits and veggies. I love making Easter baskets and candies. There would be no Spring without some amazing carrot cake. This is like having the cake and cream cheese frosting all in one baked good! Spring officially starts in a few weeks, are you ready? With these bars you will be, share with your friends, they will have no idea they are vegan! I hope you all enjoy! Adapted from The Food Network.
Vegan Carrot Cake Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
Carrot Cake Layer
- 2 1/2 C. All purpose flour
- 1 1/4 C. Quick cooking oats
- 1/2 C. Brown sugar
- 1/2 C. White sugar
- 1/2 tsp. Baking soda
- 1 tsp. Salt
- 2 tsp. Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
- 2 tsp. Vanilla
- 1 C. Vegan butter, I use Earth Balance, melted
- 1 1/2 C. Carrots, shredded fine
- 3/4 C. Pecans, chopped
Cheesecake Layer
- 16 oz. Vegan cream cheese, I used Daiya
- 1 1/2 C. Powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp. Coconut cream
- 2 tsp. Vanilla
- 1/2 tsp. Salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, add the oats, sugars, baking soda and spices. Stir just to mix a little.
- Add the melted vegan butter and vanilla. Stir, and then mix with your hands to create a crumble. Add the carrots and pecans. Continue to mix everything with your hands until the carrots and pecans are evenly distributed.
- In a 9x13 baking dish lined with parchment paper, press half of the carrot cake dough into the bottom evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes until it starts to bake a bit but is not fully cooked.
- While the bottom is baking, make the cream cheese mixture. Add all the ingredients to a stand mixer or a large bowl and whip with the paddle attachment or with a hand mixer. Until nice and smooth.
- Once the bottom of the bars is out of the oven, let cool for a few minutes. Then spread the cheesecake layer on top of the bottom of the bars, and then crumble the remaining carrot cake dough on top of that.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Until the top crumble is baked through. Let cool completely, at least 3-4 hours. Cut and serve. Store in the fridge.
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