Carrot-Zucchini Bars with Lemon Frosting

Remember all of the frosting I made for the lemon blueberry cupcakes which I froze and used for the lemon Victoria sponge cake??  Yes, you guessed it, I still had some lingering in the freezer waiting to be used.  I found a tasty looking recipe on Pinterest  ̶  thanks to a couple of my friends, I am now obsessed with this site  ̶  which called for lemon frosting.  This is also a great recipe to sneak in some extra vegetables for the veggie hater in the family!

Ingredients for bars

2 eggs
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups carrot, shredded
1 cup zucchini, shredded
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp baking soda

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Combine eggs, brown sugar, oil, honey, and vanilla.  

3. Fold in the carrot, zucchini, and pecans.

4. Combine flour, baking powder, ginger, and baking soda in separate bowl, blend well.

5. Add flour mixture to wet mixture and stir until combined.

6. Spread batter into 13x9x2 inch baking pan.

7. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

8. Remove from pan and allow to cool on wire rack.

9. Once cool, prepare frosting and spread over cake.  Cut into bars.  

10. Store in airtight container in cupboard.

(recipe adapted from http://realmomkitchen.com)

Serves 20 people

TIPS

- Use your favorite nut to replace pecans.

- When using a glass pan, be sure to grease it and line the bottom with parchment paper to prevent sticking.

Ingredients for frosting

4oz. cream cheese

2 1/2 tbsp butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sieved

2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Zest of 1 large lemon

Directions

1. Beat cream cheese and butter until combined and smooth.

2. Mix lemon juice and lemon zest.

3. Add sieved confectioners' sugar and mix well until smooth.

(frosting recipe adapted from annies-eats.com)

Bon appétit!