Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 9 x 9 square pan with parchment paper on all sides. Combine the brown sugar and butter together in a mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the vanilla extract, eggs and carrots and mix.

Step 2

Add the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and orange zest and mix until only just combined and no streaks of flour remain. Do not overmix!

Step 3

Pour the carrot cake batter into your prepared pan and set aside while you make the cheesecake layer.

Step 4

Combine the softened cream cheese, egg, granulated sugar and vanilla together in a mixing bowl and beat together (if using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment) until creamy and homogenous. Don’t over mix as this will beat too much air into your batter.

Step 5

Drop dollops of the cheesecake batter on top of the carrot cake batter and use a butter knife to make big swirls. Bake the bars at 350°F for 30 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean.

Step 6

Allow the bars to cool completely to set up before slicing into squares and enjoying!