Sharing is caring!

Carrot Cake Roll is a delicious homemade cake that’s filled with cream cheese frosting and topped with powdered sugar. It’s easy to make and the perfect dessert for your family. This cake log will feed 12 people and is ready in under 30 minutes!

Carrot Cake Roll

This carrot cake roll tastes as good as it looks. It has a wonderful cream cheese filling that you’ll want to lick off your plate. The rich flavors of cinnamon and moist carrots make this one of the best cakes you’ll make all year.

How To Make Carrot Cake Roll 

How to Make a Carrot Cake:

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Line a 15×10-inch jelly roll pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick spray.

Set it aside.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl whisk together the all-purpose flour, ground cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and ground ginger.

Set it aside.

Beat the eggs for 5 minutes, until the eggs are a light frothy yellow.

Don’t skip on this.

Beat the full five minutes.

This works better in a stand mixer however doing it in with a hand mixer also works just takes more time.

Add the sugar, vanilla, and oil then continue beating until well combined.

Fold in the flour mixture

Then fold in the shredded carrots.

Evenly pour and evenly spread the cake batter into the prepared jelly roll pan.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Remove the cake from the oven.

Heavily dust the top of the tea towel with powdered sugar.

Immediately place the tea towel on top of the cake.

Lay the cutting board on top of the tea towel.

Quickly flip the cake over, so it is laying on top of the dusted tea towel.

Carefully and slowly peel the parchment paper off of the cake.

Generally this comes right off if you spread the parchment paper well with the oil.

Flip one end of the tea towel over one of the short ends of the cake.

Slowly begin to roll one end towards the other.

Once rolled, set it aside to completely cool.

I usually cool this overnight.

How to Make the Filling for a Roll Cake:

To make the filling, in a medium-size mixing bowl and with a handheld mixer to cream together the cream cheese and butter for 2 minutes.

Add the vanilla and powdered sugar slowly.

Blend well.

How to finish decorating a Roll Cake:

Once the cake is cooled slowly unroll the cake.

Using a silicone spatula smooth the cream cheese mixture over the surface of the cake avoiding the edges.

Slowly roll the cake back up making sure to start tightly but carefully.

Place on a plate and shift powdered sugar over the top.

Tips and variations for this carrot cake roll recipe: 

Here are some tips and variations to help you make the best carrot cake roll you’ve ever had: 

• This carrot cake recipe is made from scratch, but you can also use a Betty Crocker box mix if you’d prefer. 
• Make your cake gluten-free by changing out the all-purpose flour for a gluten-free version. 
• Add mix-ins to your cake like pineapple chunks, raisins, shredded coconut, or chopped walnuts. 
• You can always leave the cake flat if rolling it seems too intimidating, but, you should at least give it a try! 

How to serve:

Here are some other delicious desserts you can also make:

• Cherry Limeade Cake
• Cookie Dough Cheesecake
• Cherry Cheesecake Poke Cake
• No Bake Vanilla Pudding Pie

How to store this carrot cake roll:

The best way to keep this carrot cake roll fresh is to put it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. The cream cheese frosting needs to be refrigerated. After five days you may notice that the cake gets dry and crumbly. 

You can also freeze this cake. To do this, place it in the freezer on a baking sheet or plate for 30 minutes, uncovered. This helps the cake harden so it won’t stick to the plastic wrap. Then, take it out and wrap it in plastic wrap and keep it in an airtight container in the freezer for up to three months. 

To thaw, place it in the refrigerator overnight and then you can eat it the next day. This is a great way to save leftover cake or make it in advance of when you’ll need it. 

FAQs: 

How do you wrap a carrot cake? 

Use plastic wrap to tightly wrap the cake before frosting. After you’ve frosted it, you can keep in fresh other ways. 

Why do carrots turn green in carrot cake? 

You may notice that the carrots in your cake turn green after baking. This is because the chemical interaction between the baking powder and the carrots changes the color. It’s nothing to worry about, but you may want to add less baking powder or soda next time. 

Can I use olive oil instead of vegetable oil in carrot cake? 

If you’d like to cut out the refined vegetable oil, you can certainly use olive oil instead. Be sure to use extra virgin olive oil so that there is very little of the rich olive taste in the cake.  

Why does my carrot cake taste bitter? 

It’s possible for carrot cake to taste bitter if too much baking soda or powder was added. You can fix this by adding an acid like sour cream or lemon juice to balance the bitterness.