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Carrot Cake Roll

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This delicious Carrot Cake Roll recipe is everything you love about classic carrot cake with cream cheese frosting…rolled up into this cute dessert!

This Carrot Cake Roll recipe is easy to make, and filled with the most amazing cream cheese frosting. It's the perfect dessert for Easter, Spring, or anytime you're craving carrot cake! | gimmesomeoven.com

Alright, my fellow pumpkin roll lovers. (And I know you’re out there, based on the fact that 10 million — yes, million — of you watched this video last Fall.)  I have a new recipe that you’ve absolutely gotta try:

Carrot Cake Roll!

You guessed it. This recipe is everything you love about a traditional pumpkin roll — the delicious spice cake, a decadent cream cheese filling, all bundled up together in one cute roll — but this one is made with a fantastic carrot cake instead of pumpkin. And when I say carrot, I mean lots of carrots. Because, believe it or not, there are two full cups of shredded fresh carrots hidden in there! Bugs Bunny would be so proud.

So if you love carrot cake, grab some fresh carrots, and let’s rock and roll this cake!

This Carrot Cake Roll recipe is easy to make, and so delicious! | gimmesomeoven.com

To make the carrot cake roll, begin first by making your carrot cake base. As with any cake roll, you don’t need a ton of batter for the cake part. Just mix it up, and then spread it out in a parchment-covered jelly roll pan (like this one). Bake until it’s cooked through.

Then once the cake is ready to go, remove it from the oven. Then immediately — and very carefully, so that you do not burn yourself — use some oven mitts to lift up the parchment paper (with the cake on top of it) and transfer it to a flat heat-proof surface. Carefully and quickly roll up the cake until it looks like the image above. Then let it cool until it reaches room temperature. While the cake is cooling, go ahead and make your cream cheese icing.

Have you ever tried rolling up your carrot cake? It's fun and totally delicious with this Carrot Cake Roll recipe! | gimmesomeoven.com

Then, once the cake has cooled, un-roll the cake so that it is mostly flat again, going very slowly and carefully so that the cake doesn’t stick to the parchment and break. Then spread your cream cheese filling evenly on top of the cake, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around. Then roll the cake back up, nice and tightly, until it forms a cute roll. Cover it completely in plastic wrap, and pop it in the fridge for a few hours until it is completely chilled.

When you’re ready to serve, unwrap the cake, sprinkle with powdered sugar…

Everything you love about carrot cake...rolled up with cream cheese filling into this delicious Carrot Cake Roll! Such a fun dessert! | gimmesomeoven.com

…and voila! This super-delicious, perfectly-spiced, fluffy and moist (<– yes, I said it), ultra-creamy, AMAZING carrot cake roll will be yours to share and enjoy!

Totally perfect for Easter this weekend, or anytime you’re feeling like a small-batch carrot cake. Enjoy, friends!

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Carrot Cake Roll

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.8 from 16 reviews
  • Prep Time: 22 minutes
  • Cook Time: 13 minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 8 -10 servings 1x

Description

This carrot cake roll is everything you love about a delicious carrot cake, all rolled up into one delicious dessert!


Ingredients

Scale

Carrot Cake Roll Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup cane sugar (or granulated white sugar)
  • 2 tablespoons avocado oil (or vegetable oil)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, homemade or store-bought
  • 2 cups shredded carrots (about 23 medium carrots)
  • 1 batch cream cheese filling (see below)
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar for rolling

Cream Cheese Filling Ingredients:

  • 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
  • 6 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

To Make The Carrot Cake Roll:

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F.  Line a 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan with parchment paper, leaving an extra 1-inch of parchment sticking up on both 15-inch sides of the pan so that you can easily lift the cake out after baking.  (If you’d like the parchment to stick to the bottom of the pan more easily, sprinkle a little bit of water on the pan and then press the parchment paper on top of it.  You can also lightly mist the top of the parchment paper with cooking spray for easier cake release afterwards, although it’s not required.)
  2. Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, ginger, salt, nutmeg, and cloves (if using) in medium bowl until combined.
  3. In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar for 1 minute until thick. Add in the oil, vanilla and shredded carrots, and whisk until just combined. Fold in the flour mixture with a rubber spatula, and stir together until just combined.
  4. Spread the batter evenly into prepared pan.  Bake for 10 to 13 minutes, or until top of cake springs back when touched. Carefully lift the parchment paper and cake out onto a flat (and heat-safe) surface.  Then slowly, roll the cake — rolling from the short end to the short end — until it is completely rolled up.  Transfer the cake roll to a wire rack, and cool until it reaches room temperature.
  5. While the cake is cooling, make the cream cheese filling (see below).
  6. When the cake has reached room temperature, transfer the cake roll to a flat surface, and carefully it until it is flat again (or mostly flat, it’s ok if the ends curl up a bit). Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over cake, leaving a 3/4-inch border on all sides.  Then carefully re-roll the cake, gently peeling away the parchment paper as you roll until you can completely remove and discard it. Tightly wrap the carrot cake roll in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour.
  7. Remove and unwrap the carrot cake roll and transfer it to your serving dish. Lightly dust the carrot cake roll on all sides with powdered sugar, if you would like.  Then slice* and serve.
  8. If you have leftovers, just re-wrap the carrot cake roll in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

To Make The Cream Cheese Filling:

  1. Whisk together cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract until smooth. If the filling is too thin, add more powdered sugar. If it is too thick, add a half teaspoon or two of water.  (You want a medium consistency so that the filling is easy to spread, but not too warm or thin that it will ooze out of the cake when you’re rolling it up.)

Notes

*If you want the cake to be pretty on the very ends, I recommend slicing off about 1/2-inch of the cake on both ends before serving.  Then you’ll definitely see those pretty cream cheese swirls!

**The listed recipe time does not include the hours needed for cooling and then chilling the cake in the refrigerator.

Slightly adapted from Fabulously Frugal and this Pumpkin Roll.

This post contains affiliate links.

Everything you love about carrot cake...rolled up into this easy Carrot Cake Roll dessert!! So easy to make, and so delicious! | gimmesomeoven.com

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60 comments on “Carrot Cake Roll”

  1. This is fantastic! As a child I LOVED rolls from budget bakeries here in Hong Kong. Never had a carrot cake roll before!

    Charmaine Ng

  2. Oh yes! This looks so amazing and perfect for Easter!

  3. Carrot cake is my absolute favourite! I’ve never tried making a swiss roll with it. What a fantastic idea!

  4. OMG this looks so delicious!! Definitely gonna be making soon.

  5. It is very hard to know what to say really. Except possibly yum, yum, yum, yum and yummy. Carrot cake in swiss roll form. I am swooning and can’t wait to try it. I will post you on results and the comments of my trusty testing team (I mean those that get to eat it, rather than those who have to cook it).

  6. OMG yum this is a genius idea for Easter and Spring.  I actually made carrot cake muffins the other day and forgot how much I LOVE all the spices in carrot cake, so good!

  7. This looks amazing! I am definitely trying this out and pinning for later!

  8. You got a really good tight roll there are that can be quite tricky. It always puts me off, unless I am making a christmas log and it is smothered in chocolate frosting which covers it all up. I am loving the flavours in this one. You can’t beat a good carrot cake. Pinning this one for later. Love that first shot!

  9. Yes! I made your pumpkin roll recipe for a Thanksgiving event and it was a smash HIT! Everyone loved it. I’d love to make this for Easter weekend. How far in advance do you think I can make it without it going dry? I’m sure a day would be fine, but do you think 2 days is pushing it?

    Thanks as always – love your blog! XO

    • Thanks for s haring, Stefanie, we’re so glad to hear that! We apologize for just now getting to your comment! :( In the future though, we think two days in advance is okay for this cake roll, just as long as it’s covered well so no air can get in, and stored in the fridge.

  10. Beautiful roll Ali- such a perfect spiral :) I keep putting off making rolls but I should just do it!

    • Thanks, Kearin — we hope you can give this one a try, it’s fun to make and fun to eat! :)

  11. Just a quick question. When you roll the warm cake do you roll the parchment paper in with it?

    • Hi Roz! Yes, with the parchment. You’ll peel the parchment away in step 6.

  12. I used a gluten free all purpose flour and this turned out delicious! It needed to cook a little longer(18 mins) and was probably more moist than a gluten version, but is still pretty and so tasty!

  13. Thanks for the recipe Ali, I made this for our dessert for Easter.  It was a big hit!  I tagged you on instagram, so you could see how mine turned out ? 

    • We’re so glad to hear that, Jeni, and thanks for tagging on IG, it looks awesome! :D

  14. I made this for Easter dessert tonight and it was great! So easy too! Was my first roll cake ever and now I’m sure I’ll be making a lot of them–thanks! 

  15. I made this for Easter and everyone LOVED it! Is there any way to use this exact recipe for a cake? I have a friends birthday coming up and she requested this exact recipe, but not sure what the measurements would be for a cake. Any help?

    • We’re so glad this was a hit, Jenny! We haven’t tried this as a regular cake, but we do have an awesome carrot cake recipe that is very popular, so we’d recommend that! Here’s the recipe. :)

  16. Found the recipe for this over on StitchingDream’s blog. I made it this weekend for a family gathering following my son’s Confirmation celebration. It was a hit! Super easy. Made me look like I was an accomplished baker – ha ha! Thank you for sharing!






  17. Love the cake it is so easy






  18. Have you tried a roll like this using gluten free flour? Wondering if the roll would hold together without the gluten or if I should go another route instead, like carrot cupcakes.

  19. Could I freeze this?

  20. I make the pumpkin roll all of the time and I am in the process of making this carrot roll today! Can raisins and pecans be added to this recipe? I am more on the sourthern side of baking. Thank you!!

  21. So, I finished up my Thanksgiving shopping Wednesday and realized I overlooked the can of pumpkin I needed for the Pumpkin Roll I had planned to make. My husband is not a fan of pumpkin pie and thought the roll would be a good stand-in. I was rechecking my menu and recipes to see if I had missed any other key ingredients needed for the feast. (We live 20 miles from the nearest town so running to the store can be a chore.) That’s when I found your recipe for Carrot Cake Roll, and, am I ever glad I did! It was the hit of the dessert table! Everyone asked for the recipe! My husband asked if I could make it every “pumpkin” holiday instead. Indeed, it was moist and delicious. Directions were easy to follow and I looked like a pro pastry chef.






  22. This could easily be turned into a Yule Log as a nice switch from the chocolate ones that are sometimes too rich, heavy and sweet. Instead of chocolate frosting I’m thinking maybe meringue on top and a torch or a little time under the broiler to brown it for bark.

  23. Hi,
    I just wanted to let you know that I made this recipe with just a slight adaption. I added a touch more vanilla because I love vanilla flavoring. It was fantastic. Thank you. I am working my way through the great british baking show and it started with swiss rolls but their version was licorice and I do not care for licorice at all. I found your recipe and love carrot cake.
    I am working on a blog to document my way through all of those recipes and just wanted to start with yours but give you credit.






  24. I made the roll and it tasted really good!! However, I baked it for more than 30 minutes and it still looked raw to me, and was a bit sticky. Also the color was a beigy-brown one, that was not very appealing.. what could i do about these??? Help :D

  25. Just made this, the cake is cooling. I logged on to make your pumpkin roll but when I saw carrot cake roll well that was a no brainer and I’m absolutely going to make the chocolate roll “Yule log” when December rolls in ?

  26. First time making a jelly roll. Made it for Thanksgiving. It was sad looking but tasted great! It broke in a few spots when unrolling it to frost. Would make it again. Had some carrots I needed to use so was excited to find your recipe. I’ve had Pumpkin Jelly Roll before but never a Carrot Cake one. Easy to follow. Thanks for sharing.






  27. The flavor was quite good, but the texture of the cake was spongy and weird.






  28. First time I made it was for this year’s Easter. I never liked carrot cake, but this one made me loveeee carrot cake. ? In fact, Im making it for my own bday this year! Haha. Question though, should I double or triple the recipe if Im using 3 6×3” round cake pans?






  29. Followed the recipe and it came out great! Thank you






  30. This looks delicious!! I have a question though: can cake flour be used instead of all purpose flour? Will it affect the taste or texture in any way? Thank you! Can’t wait to try this recipe.

  31. Any advice on if a half sheet pan instead of a jelly roll pan will still work?

  32. Super great recipe- thanks! I’ve just made it up and will bring it camping this Easter weekend for breakfasts!






  33. Just finished making it and my guess it won’t take long to devour it !! Myself!!!






  34. I’m getting ready to go out to my kitchen to make two of these for Thanksgiving. I think they will be a hit! I assume they would freeze well like pumpkin roll does. I just wanted to mention that in steps 6,7, and 8, you refer to his as pumpkin roll. Just thought you might not been aware of that.

  35. Salted butter or unsalted

  36. Can I use cake flour? Or will this change the cosistency?

  37. My cake didn’t rise very much. Could it be because the carrots were too coarse? I used the big holes on a box grater. Also, maybe I didn’t beat my eggs enough.

    Any comments would be appreciated.






  38. My first attempt at a roll cake and I was nervous it would be a disaster. It turned out perfectly! It was my contribution to Easter dinner. Served it on an oval platter with Cadbury choc eggs and fondant bunnies around on a bed of coconut I dyed green. Wish I could include a photo!
    I froze it and found the icing sugar “melted” on the damp roll so had to sprinkle sugar on again right when served. It was so easy and so delicious. Now I am looking for a recipe for a roll with whipped cream and blueberries inside!






  39. Saw this recipe today and made it when I got home from work. All ingredients I already had on hand, and easy to follow video and instructions.
    Turned out perfectly! Some of it disappeared before I could even wrap and chill… to rave reviews!
    So easy and it looked spectacular! Now I’ll try the pumpkin roll for Thanksgiving!






  40. My first ever carrot roll and it was do easy and good ,,, Great recipe 😋






  41. This is currently chilling in my fridge as we speak. But don’t worry I had some scrap before putting it in there. This turned out really good! Way easier than I thought it would be. I used wax paper instead of parchment because I ran out and it worked perfect. Thanks for the recipe!!






  42. I am not a fan of carrot cake but this roll version is fabulous! The family asks for it all the time at holidays and birthdays. It’s a super easy to follow recipe