This delicious Carrot Cake Roll recipe is everything you love about classic carrot cake with cream cheese frosting…rolled up into this cute dessert!
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:
A 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!
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.
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…
…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!
Carrot Cake Roll
- 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
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 2-3 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:
- 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.)
- Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, ginger, salt, nutmeg, and cloves (if using) in medium bowl until combined.
- 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.
- 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.
- While the cake is cooling, make the cream cheese filling (see below).
- 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.
- 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.
- 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:
- 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.
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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?
The flavor was quite good, but the texture of the cake was spongy and weird.
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.
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 ?
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
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.
Has anyone made and tried freezing the log?
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.
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.
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!!
Could I freeze this?