Oatmeal Raspberry Chocolate Cheesecake bars

I’m on a huge major intense dark chocolate kick right now …

Not that I’m actually eating it all the time, but all I want to do is shovel trunk loads of dark chocolate chips in my face.

I think it has to do something with the intensity of the smell, the depth of the taste – heh, you would think I was an actual food intellect there for a second.

I’m not.

But I have something delicious and jazzy to share with you!!

LOOK AT THESE BARS!!

Also, give me all the berries right now – raspberries especially. Ahh … gimme gimme gimme. Funny fact, one of the reasons I actually really like raspberries besides the crazy colour, and taste, is they don’t require much effort to eat. I can squish them in my mouth and we’re good to go … HOW FREAKING LAZY DOES THAT MAKE ME SOUND?! Mehh … it’s the weekend, let’s embrace it.

Also, these bars have oatmeal in it = breakfast food. Actually, it covers all four major food groups; which means this could totally count as a meal … riiiiigggghhhht?! Mehh … it’s the weekend, let’s embrace it.

Oatmeal Raspberry Chocolate Cheesecake bars

For the Crust:

• 2   cup Flour
• ½  cup quick cook oats
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 cup softened Butter
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 2/3 cup Brown Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• ½ cup fresh raspberries
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips

For the Filling:

• 8 oz softened Cream Cheese
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 Egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9×11-inch baking pan with foil and spray with nonstick spray.

Whisk together flour, oats, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cornstarch for crust.

Cream together butter, brown sugar and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and whip to incorporate. Combine wet and dry ingredients.

Fold in dark chocolate chips and raspberries. Set aside

In a separate bowl, combine all of the filling ingredients.

Press ½  of the crust mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.

Top with filling mixture

Crumble remaining topping over the filling mixture.

Bake in a 350 oc oven for 1 hour.

Allow to cool at room temperature and then refrigerate for 2 hours ( refrigerating is optional, but allows for neat slicing).

Honey Roasted Pineapple Carrot Cake with Cinnamon Pecan Brittle

Like most holidays eater weekend means …

An extra day off – yay!!

Tons of food – yay!!

Tons of easter/bunny/spring themed snacks – yay!!

And chocolate – yaaaaay! Yaaaaayyy!! Yaaaayy!!

And naps, there are bound to be a couple naps!

Again, this year we’ll be doing our annual Easter egg hunt for my parents – seriously, this is the best thing ever. Often my parents would forget where they hid the candy, normally turning into a huge mess, so one year – I think my brother and I were probably in our early 20’s- we turned the tables, and decided to hide candy for my mom and dad.

Best.idea.ever.

I’ve never seen anything as funny, and they totally get into it. ahhh parents, gotta love them!! Speaking of parents, I feel like I haven’t been home in forever – seriously, I live less than an hour away, and the last time I saw them was like a month ago. It.breaks.my.heart.

But also, real life … I guess. So I’m even more excited than ever to be spending the weekend with them!! Also, there’s nothing like mom’s home cooking in exchange for making her Easter bread…. And carrot cake.

DEAL!!

Take a lookie look at the cake I got for you today – carrots, cinnamon pecans, annnddd ohhh look at that cream cheese frosting! Sooo … a muffin with frosting?! – pretty much, at least that’s how I was able to justify it when I ate it for breakfast – plus carrots, nuts, dairy in the frosting …. I’m pretty much eating kale.

Honey Roasted Pineapple Carrot Cake with Cinnamon Pecan Brittle

1 1/2 cups + 4 Tablespoons vegetable oil ( divided 1 ½ cups + 2 tbsp – 2 tbps)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 ½ cup brown sugar

6 eggs

1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

2 ½  cups flour

¾  cup whole wheat flour

1 Tbsp. + 1 Tsp ground cinnamon (divided 1 Tbsp + 1 Tsp)

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

¼  tsp. ground cumin

¼ tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp ground ginger

2 large carrots peeled ( 1 finely grated – 2, coarsely chopped)

1 tin pineapple rings

2 Tbsp Honey

Prepared cream cheese frosting  (or you can make your own … )

  

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine chopped carrots, 2 tbps oil, 2 tbsp honey and 1 tsp cinnamon and pineapple rings. Roast for 30 minutes. Once finished removed from oven.

Lower the oven to 350 oc and allow carrot-pineapple combo to cool.

Grease and flour  one large 12-inch round baking pan or two 9-inch round baking pans.

In the bowl of a large stand mixer, mix together 1 ½ cup + 2 tbsp oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until combined and smooth. Add in the eggs one at a time, add vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining dry ingredients flours, remaining cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, nutmeg, cloves, ginger until combined.

Add cooled carrot-pineapple mixture to a blender, and blend to a thick paste ( it should resemble apple sauce) – you may have to add a little bit a water to help the process.

Combine all wet and dry ingredients.

Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans.

Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cakes comes out clean.

Remove from oven and allow to cool. In the meantime, prepare cinnamon pecan brittle

 

Cinnamon Pecan Brittle

1 egg white

1/4 cup honey

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups pecans

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

In a large bowl whisk together egg white, honey, salt and cinnamon.

Toss nuts in the egg white mixture to coat.  Pour nut mixture onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes, until nuts are browned.

Allow nuts to cool for 5 minutes at room temperature.

 

Assembling the cake

Once cake and brittle has cooled, level off both carrot cakes and break apart brittle.

Divide each cake horizontally (leaving you with 4 or 3 cakes depending on the size of pan used), between each layer, slater on the prepared cream cheese frosting, top with next later of cake. Repeat for all layers. Top the last layer of cake, with your brittle.

Happy Easter everyone!!