These delicious and gooey carrot cake snack bars are chock full of carrot goodness WITHOUT the copious sugar grams!
After seeing a plethora of carrot cake re-makes on blogs and Instagram, I told myself I wasn’t going to bother. Too many choices already, the carrot cake world had been stuffed and was overflowing with enough options, why would I trouble myself?
Then, however, I made this recipe, and oh boy, is it good!
First off, it’s low in added sugar, only one tablespoon for an 8 x 8 pan of bars. Second, my kids LOVED these! Sam usually doesn’t go for treats that don’t incorporate chocolate, but he surprised me with his carrot cake fervor.
I knew this recipe was good when I brought some with me to pick up my girls, and I couldn’t stop eating them in the car!
So, what’s the secret to a great carrot cake?
Well, it’s easy to stuff it full of sugar and fat, but what if you’re trying to limit those ingredients, like myself?
Sugar, in particular, was the foe I was most up against.
To compensate, I’ve incorporated naturally sweet ingredients, like oat flour, cinnamon, applesauce, and raisins to aid the overall taste, but what really makes an awesome carrot cake…is carrots!
This cake is stuffed so full of carrots, you’ll wonder if my measurements are off. I assure you, they are not.
The carrots lend sweetness as well as texture. They also have a natural water content that really contributes to the dense, gooey-ness that makes these bars just heavenly!
Recipe notes
I use a regular, full-fat plain yogurt for this recipe. If you want to steer clear of dairy, try a plain non-dairy yogurt or substitute it for another two tablespoons of olive oil.
Gooey Carrot Cake Snack Bars
Ingredients
DRY INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp dried ginger
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
WET INGREDIENTS:
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Tbsp coconut sugar
- 6 Tbsp applesauce
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp plain, full-fat yogurt (not Greek) (see Notes)
- 10-20 drops stevia, to taste (see Notes)
- 200 grams finely grated carrot (about two cups)
- 3 Tbsp raisins
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Mix the wet ingredients in a medium bowl, minus the carrot and raisins.
- Add the wet mix into the dry ingredients, stirring just until the dry ingredients are moistened.
- Fold in the carrots (it is a lot!) and raisins until they look pretty well distributed.
- Pour the batter into a well-oiled 8 x 8 baking dish.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the middle of the cake feel slightly firm to the touch.
- Cool, cut, and serve!
Notes
Nutrition
If you’re interested in what I used for frosting, this is a loose recipe:
3/4 c. cashews, soaked ~3 hours
2 T. melted coconut oil
1 T. maple syrup
1-2 t. lemon juice, as desired for ‘tang’
1 t. vanilla
pinch sea salt
few drops stevia
2-4 T. water or milk, as needed for blending
Just blend everything together until smooth!
Recipe steps:
Mixing the dry…
Mixing the wet (apologies for my yogurt drips!)…
Add the wet to the dry…
Fold in the carrots and raisins…
Orange batter…
Into the baking dish!
Frosted and ready to fly into my mouth!
I cant wait to try these!;)
Can I substitute no-fat Greek yogurt?
I haven’t tried that – Greek yogurt is thicker than regular, and may not add as much richness without the fat. Let me know if you try it!
What can I use to substitute the Stevia?
A granulated sugar would be best!