Carrot Cake Bars with Coconut Raisin-Studded Icing

The baking bug bit me this morning… hard. Perhaps the insistent itch can be attributed to my dwindling days of summer vacation (I am starting a new job as a special educator at a suburban high school); in one week I will no longer have the luxury of baking on a weekday morning.

I perused through my vast collection of “baked goods recipes to try” until my hand stilled on the print-out for Yogurt-Glazed Carrot Cake from Ashley’s blog Sweet & Natural.  I just so happened to have all of the ingredients on hand, so I set out to make this delicious-sounding cake. Then I hit a snag. Have I really left my kitchen unequipped of round cake pans? Ashamedly, yes. What I did find is my trusty 9 inch square baking pan, and from there the adaptations from the original recipe took off.

I decided to halve the recipe, and cut the cake into bars for built-in portion control. I also cut down on the amount of agave nectar and added in some raisins in order to make the bars more breakfast-friendly. I loved Ashley’s idea for a healthier icing using greek yogurt, but I didn’t want to give up the rich cream cheese flavor of traditional carrot cake. To appease both my desire for a healthy baked good and my taste buds, I combined just a touch of neufchatel (1/3 less fat) cream cheese with 2% Greek yogurt for a thick but not-too-rich icing. I also tossed some extra unsweetened shredded coconut and raisins into the icing for textural contrast, but feel free to omit these additions if desired.

The cake itself came out perfectly moist, slightly sweet, and beautifully flavored with Autumnal spices. I have Ashley to thank for the blend of cake ingredients! The icing is not as sweet at that of a typical carrot cake, but I love the tang and richness of the yogurt-cream cheese combination. If you prefer a sweeter icing, a couple extra tablespoons of pure maple syrup should do the trick.

Carrot Cake Bars with Coconut Raisin-Studded Icing

Adapted from Ashley’s Yogurt-Glazed Carrot Cake

Cake Ingredients:

1 1/2 – 2 cups grated carrots
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup agave nectar (or pure maple syrup)
1 egg, lightly whisked
1 egg white, lightly whisked
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup raisins

Coconut Raisin-Studded Icing Ingredients:

3/4 cup 2% plain Greek yogurt
1 oz neufchatel (1/3 less fat) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 Tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut
2 Tbsp raisins


Preheat oven to 350*. Lightly coat a 9 inch square baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together the first 7 ingredients (through vanilla extract). Separately, mix together the next 7 ingredients (flour through salt).
Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until just combined. Gently fold in raisins.
Pour batter into pan, and bake at 350* for 25-30 minutes. Let cool completely.
Meanwhile, combine the first 4 icing ingredients (through vanilla extract) in a small bowl. Using a hand-held electric mixer, whisk the ingredients until smooth. Stir in the shredded coconut and raisins.
When cake is fully cooled, spread yogurt icing on top and cut into 16 bars. Keep bars refrigerated.