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Cardamom Spiced Carrot Halwa Bars

Cardamom Spiced Carrot Halwa Bars|www.mannaandspice.com

Carrot Halwa (gajjar ka halwa) got a major facelift! As a bar, with a coconut-almond crust and a sweet, carrot filling spiced with cardamom. 

Ingredients

Units Scale

For the crust:

  • 1 cup coconut flour
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 6 tbsp melted butter
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup white sugar

For the filling:

  • 2 cups carrots, peeled and cut into fourths (a 16 oz bag of baby carrots is also fine for easier prep)
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar (dark or light)
  • 2 tsp ground cardamom (reduce to 1 1/2 tsp for milder flavor)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 tbsp corn starch
  • 3-4 tbsp crushed almonds to sprinkle on top (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper or grease lightly.
  2. Steam or boil the carrots until fully cooked and tender. Puree until completely smooth. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the crust and mix well together. press evenly into 9x13 pan and bake for 10 minutes.
  4. While the crust is baking, combine pureed carrots with white sugar, brown sugar, salt, nutmeg, cardamom. Whisk in vanilla extract and whipping cream. Add in, one egg at a time. Stir in the cornstarch until the filling is smooth no lumps remain.
  5. Pour filling into pan, on top of crust, garnish with crushed almonds (if using) and return pan to oven and bake for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  6. Cool completely and refrigerate for 1-2 hours, until crust is firm before cutting into squares.
  7. Keep bars refrigerated to maintain firm crust. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before serving to bring the bars slightly up to temperature.
  8. Store in an airtight container, in the fridge, for up to 1 week (if they last that long!).