Gluten Free Carrot Cake Blondies
Chewy and delicious these gluten free carrot cake blondies are a real treat and super easy to make, especially for and Easter treat!
When it comes to cake, one of my favorite flavors is hands down carrot cake. The flavors, the textures and that cream cheese frosting are things my dessert dreams are made of. This Easter instead of making my traditional Gluten Free Coconut Carrot Cake, I wanted to try something different. Pairing up with CGA Caribbean I decided to try some Gluten Free Carrot Cake Blondies for this year’s Easter treat.
What are blondies?
Blondies are best described for me as a brownie with no cocoa.
Similar in texture you can create all sorts of flavors like these Gluten Free Carrot Cake blondies, chocolate chip, or even plain vanilla. Usually they aren’t frosted, but carrot cake flavors whether in a blondie or cake, needs a little cream cheese.
How to make these Gluten Free Carrot Cake Blondies?
One of my favorite things about this recipe is that they are super easy to make and pack a lot of flavor. To make you simply:
- Melt 1 cup or butter or 1 brick of CGA marigold in a bowl. Add sugar, egg, vanilla. Whisk to combine, then add the grated carrots.
- Add the dry ingredients, gluten free 1:1 baking flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix together until smooth, then fold in some toasted coconut or nuts if you prefer.
- Pour the batter in a parchment lined pan an bake at 350°F for about 35 minutes until the edges are golden and the center is set.
- Finally make the cream cheese topping, frost cooled blondies, finish with some more toasted coconut then slice and serve.
A few extra tips:
- Want to make these dairy free? – Marigold is a dairy free product, so to make these dairy free simply use a dairy free cream cheese to make the topping.
- Not a fan of Coconut? – Toasted coconut is one of my flavor additions to carrot cake, but I know it’s isn’t something every one enjoys. In place of the toasted coconut, you can use toasted pecans, chopped walnuts or even chopped almonds instead. You can also leave out the nuts completely if you can’t have nuts.
I really hope you enjoy the recipe! And if you make it don’t forget to tag us on social.
Happy Baking Foodies!
Gluten Free Carrot Cake Blondies
Chewy and delicious these gluten free carrot cake blondies are a real treat and super easy to make, especially for and Easter treat!
Ingredients
Carrot Cake Blondies
- 1 cup butter, melted (we used Marigold from CGA)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup finely grated carrots
- 1½ cups gluten free 1:1 baking flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of nutmeg
- Pinch of Salt
- ½ cup toasted coconut, plus more for topping
Cream Cheese Topping
- 8 oz cream cheese at room temp
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- ¾ powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. When cutting your parchment make sure it is long enough for the edges extend over sides of pan for easy removal.
- In a bowl, whisk together gluten free baking flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt then set aside.
- In another bowl, melt butter, let cool then add brown sugar, eggs and vanilla. Whisk until smooth then fold in the carrots.
- To the egg and sugar mixture and the flour mix and stir just until combined then fold in the toasted coconut.
- Pour batter into prepared pan spreading to the edges of the pan, then bake for about 35 minutes until the edges are golden and the center is set. Remove from oven and let cool completely in pan before removing.
- While blondies are cooling, make the topping. In a bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer, mix cream cheese. Next add icing sugar, blend until smooth and incorporated, then add vanilla and mix again. If the mixture is too thick you can loosen it up by adding milk 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Once blondies are cools, remove from pan, spread the topping evenly over the top. Finish with some toasted coconut, slice and serve! Refrigerate extras in an airtight container for 3- 4 days.
Notes
- Dairy Free Option - Marigold is dairy free, so to make these dairy free, use dairy free cream cheese for the topping instead of regular.
- Instead of coconut you can use toasted peacans or chopped walnuts instead.
