These rich carrot cake blondies combine the warm spices of classic carrot cake with a fudgy blondie texture, swirled with cream cheese, loaded with browned butter, fresh grated carrots, crunchy nuts, and topped with a buttery crumble. The perfect twist on two favourite desserts! These carrot cake blondies taste even better than carrot cake!
Carrot Cake Blondies
These rich and fudgy Carrot Cake Blondies are the ultimate combination of two dessert favourites! the spiced warmth of classic carrot cake and the chewy, buttery texture of blondies, Made with brown butter, freshly grated carrots, cinnamon and nutmeg, and swirled with sweet cream cheese frosting, these easy carrot cake blondies are perfect for summer baking!
All the delicious flavours of classic carrot cake come together in these easy carrot cake blondies without the hassle of baking and frosting a full cake! The texture? Moist, dense, and chewy!
These blondies are everything you love about carrot cake, but in the form of a fudgy white chocolate brownie! Made with a brown butter blondie base, they’re packed with warm spices, shredded carrots, crunchy nuts, and finished with a cream cheese swirl baked right in. Oh and the best part… it has a crumble! and we all love a crumble around here right?!
Whether you’re a carrot cake fan or a blondie lover, this easy one-bowl dessert recipe will be your new go-to dessert!
If you fancy a plain white chocolate blondie that you can add your own mix ins too. Check out this recipe!
Ingredients
- White chocolate– I use melted white chocolate in the base of this recipe. i just use a supermarket own chocolate, the cheapest i can find really!
- Butter– I suggest using Unsalted Butter for blondies but you can use baking spread if you’d like.
- Caster sugar– I use just caster sugar for my blondies For sweetness and added chewiness. You can use light brown sugar if you’d like to add some caramel flavours depending on what add ins you use!
- Eggs– I use two egg for structure and another egg yolk for richness.
- Golden Syrup– I love adding golden syrup into my bakes, it adds sweetness and makes the texture even better trust me on this one!
- Plain flour & Cornflour– I use plain flour and cornflour in this recipe. Cornflour helps achieve a fudgy, chewy texture. If you don’t have cornflour/cornstarch then you can just use plain flour! Don’t worry the blondies will still be amazing!
- Carrots– I highly recommend Using your hands or a towel to squeeze out as much moisture from the carrots as possible. You don’t want to add much more moisture into the blondies as it will affect the texture! Removing all that excess moisture from the carrots will give you the delicious carrot flavour without affecting the fudgy blondie texture!
- Spices– I use cinnamon, nutmeg and mixed spice for these blondies!
- Cream Cheese- I recommend using a full fat cream cheese for the cream cheese swirl! For the cream cheese swirl, I add one egg yolk into the mix. I would avoid using the whole egg as it wont swirl as well and will alter the texture. You can save the egg white for another bake!
- Pecans- I chose to use pecans for this recipe but you could use walnuts or skip the nuts Completely!
Brown Butter (Microwave Method)
To brown butter in the microwave, chop it into small pieces and place it in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover the bowl with a microwave-safe lid or parchment paper. Microwave the butter in short bursts, typically 2 minutes at a time, until it reaches your desired colour and nutty aroma. Check it every minute or so and remove it from the microwave when it’s browned!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Everything you love about carrot cake and blondie combined!
- Fudgy blondie texture, chewy, dense, delicious and made with brown butter!
- Swirled with cream cheese and topped with a crumble!
- No mixer needed, no frosting necessary.
- Perfect for summer baking or cozy fall desserts! I feel like carrot desserts work all year round!
How To Make Carrot Cake Blondies
- Brown the butter: Cook butter over medium heat until golden and fragrant. Let cool.
- Mix wet ingredients: Combine browned butter, sugar, eggs, and golden syrup.
- Add dry ingredients: Fold in flour, cornflour and spices.
- Stir in grated carrots, chocolate and nuts.
- Make cream cheese swirl: Beat cream cheese, icing sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
- Assemble: pour the blondie batter in a lined baking tin, dollop cream cheese mixture on top and swirl with a knife.
- Top with crumble and bake until golden and set. Once baked press in some extra pecans and allow to cool. Once cooled, place in the fridge for a few hours or overnight for best results. (Recipe card has a more in-depth step by step method).
Tips & Tricks
- Don’t overbake! Slightly underbaked blondies will set as they cool and stay fudgy.
- I mix my blondies just until the ingredients are combined. Some recipes say to whip up your eggs or butter until light and fluffy but this isn’t Necessary for these blondies!
- Let them cool fully before slicing for clean edges.
- These white chocolate blondies last at room temp, or in the fridge for up to a week or you can freeze them for 3+ months.
- Make sure to use the right sized baking tin. I have made this mistake before and used a bigger one and it was a huge flop! I use a 9″ square tin for these blondies.
- Grate carrots finely and remove excess moisture before adding to the blondie batter.
- Refrigerate your blondies for at least 3-4 hours or overnight for the best fudgy texture!
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I Need To Use Brown Butter?
No! You can use normal unsalted butter if you’d prefer. Brown butter has a nutty flavour which adds to the pecans but isn’t needed!
Can I Skip The Cream Cheese Swirl?
Yes! You’ll still get a delicious spiced blondie, but the swirl adds an extra indulgent touch.
Can I Use Chocolate Chips Instead?
You can, but for the best melt and texture, white chocolate bars are better!
How Do I Know If My Blondies Are Baked?
This is one of the hardest things when it comes to baking blondies, knowing when to take them out at the right time. Using a skewer won’t help as blondies will still be gooey, similar to a brownie when they’re removed from the oven! They should have a slight wobble in the middle when you remove them from the oven, They will also set more as they cool down, wait until they are cool and put them in the fridge for 3-4 hours to ensure you get the BEST blondie texture. (Put it in the fridge still in the tin).
What Is The Difference Between Blondies And Brownies?
Blondies are made with white chocolate instead of cocoa and dark chocolate. They have a rich, buttery, and sweet vanilla flavour compared to the fudgy, chocolatey taste of brownies.
Why Did My Blondies Come Out Cakey Instead Of Fudgy?
Cakey blondies may result from over-mixing or over-baking. Be sure to mix just until combined and bake until just set in the centre. Also make sure you’re using plain flour instead of self raising flour!
Storage And Freezing
These blondies last at room temp, or in the fridge for up to a week or you can freeze them for 2+ months. Wrap individual bars in baking paper and place in a ziplock freezer bag.
Recommended Equipment & Ingredients
- Stand mixer Use code BITEOFBAKES for 20% off!
- Electric hand whisk
- Vanilla Extract
- Mixing Bowl Mine is pink of course!
- Scales
- Baking Tin (Square 8×8″).
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Carrot Cake Blondies
Ingredients
Carrot Blondies
- 200g White Chocolate (Melted).
- 175g Unsalted Butter (Melted).
- 200g Caster Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 280g Plain Flour
- 20g Cornflour
- 15g Golden Syrup
- 100g Grated Carrots
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp Mixed Spice
- 100g White Chocolate Chips/Chunks
- 100g Walnuts or Pecans
Cream Cheese Swirl
- 110g Cream Cheese
- 30g Caster Sugar
- 1 Egg Yolk
Crumble
- 150g Plain Flour
- 90g Light Brown Sugar
- 100g Unsalted Butter (Cubed).
- Pinch of Salt
Instructions
Brown Butter
- To brown butter in the microwave, chop it into small pieces and place it in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover the bowl with a microwave-safe lid or parchment paper. Microwave the butter in short bursts, typically 2 minutes at a time, until it reaches your desired colour and nutty aroma. Check it every minute or so and remove it from the microwave when it's browned!
- Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4 / 180ºc and line an 9" square tin with parchment paper.
- Grate your carrots and squeeze out the excess water (too much water in your blondie will affect the texture and your blondie wont set).
- Add the browned unsalted butter and white chocolate to a bowl and melt in short bursts in the microwave, stirring well each time, until smooth. (Ensure you stir well in between to stop it from splitting).
- Once melted, stir in your caster sugar until combined.
- Add in the eggs and golden syrup, and stir again until combined.
- Mix through the plain flour, grated carrots, spices, cornflour, pecans and chocolate until you can no longer see any flour.
- Pour the mixture into the lined tin and make your cream cheese swirl and crumble topping.
Cream Cheese Swirl
- In a small bowl, mix together your cream cheese, caster sugar and one egg yolk until combined and smooth.
Crumble
- Place the flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl and mix well. Taking a few cubes of butter at a time rub into the flour mixture. Keep rubbing until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs and all the butter is incorporated.
- Spoon your cream cheese mixture onto your carrot cake blondie (you may not use it all) and swirl it through the blondie.
- Sprinkle your crumble evenly over the top of the blondie.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes (mine take 28 minutes), take them out the oven when there is an ever so slight wobble in the middle.
- Once baked, press in some extra walnuts/pecans and let the blondies cool in the tin fully, and then set the blondies in the fridge for 3-4 hours or overnight for best results!
- Slice your blondie into 9 slices and enjoy!