Moist carrot cake rolled up with cream cheese frosting – if you love pumpkin rolls in the fall, you’ve got to try a carrot cake roll for spring!
Carrot Cake Roll
Pumpkin rolls are one of my favorite fall desserts…so I’m super excited to share this carrot cake roll recipe! It’s made just like you would a pumpkin roll, but using carrot cake batter.
The carrot cake is made from scratch using real carrots, baked until moist and springy, and filled with a decadent cream cheese frosting. This is a show-stopper of a dessert that looks amazing on the Easter brunch table!
Not only is this one of the most unique carrot cake recipes, but it is surprisingly simple to make too! I’ve got lots of tips for making the perfect carrot cream cheese roll later in the post.
Related: Try our classic carrot layer cake recipe too!
Ingredients
I’ve provided this quick list of shop-able ingredients for your convenience; disclosure policy here.
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon each of: baking soda, kosher salt, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, ground cloves
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil (or your favorite cooking oil)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups finely shredded carrots
Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened (1 standard block package cream cheese)
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Helpful Kitchen Tools
- Jelly roll pan (18×13″)
- Mixing bowls
- Parchment paper
- Wire cooling rack
- Stand mixer
- Plastic wrap
Instructions
To Prep: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13×18 baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray and line with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl using an electric hand mixer), beat together the eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla until frothy. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture into the bowl of wet ingredients, until smooth. Start on medium speed and work up to high speed.
- Fold or stir the shredded carrots into the cake batter, then pour batter onto the prepared pan and spread evenly.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cakes springs back when touched and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Quickly remove the cake from the baking sheet, but leave it on the parchment paper. Roll up the cake with the parchment paper, so the cake won’t stick to itself. Allow to cool completely.
To Make the Filling and Roll
- Using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream together butter and softened cream cheese, until smooth.
- Gradually beat in powdered sugar and vanilla.
- Carefully unroll the carrot sheet cake. If the cake still feels warm to the touch, allow it to cool longer before frosting.
- If the cake is cool, spread the cream cheese filling in an even layer on the surface of the cake.
- Re-roll the cake as tightly as possible, but be sure to remove the parchment paper as you go. When the cake is rolled up, wrap it in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator overnight.
- When ready to serve, remove plastic and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Slice and enjoy!
Prep Tips
- Roll the cake while it is still warm from the oven. The cake is more likely to crack if you don’t roll it up while it’s still warm from the oven, as described in the recipe directions.
- Make sure the cake is completely cooled before frosting. Because we let the cake cool while it’s rolled up, the middle of the cake takes longer to cool. Give it plenty of time and check before frosting. If you try to frost the cake while it’s still warm, the frosting is more likely to stick and tear the cake.
- Do not put cake in fridge while it’s still warm. If you waited to frost the cake until it cooled completely, this won’t be an issue. Placing a still warm cake in the fridge is a recipe for it to turn soggy, as excess moisture from the cake doesn’t get a chance to evaporate as steam.
- A few cracks are ok! Usually the cake won’t crack, but if for some reason it does, or if the cake sticks to the parchment paper, you can always cover up these imperfections with powdered sugar or frosting.
More Easter Desserts To Try
- Easter Birds Nest Cookies
- Easter Cookie Cake
- Nutter Butter Chicks
- Carrot Cake Cookies
- Carrot Shaped Mini Carrot Cakes
- Easter Bunny Dessert Board
Carrot Cake Roll Recipe (Printable Recipe Card)
If you tried this recipe and liked it, please rate it!
Carrot Cake Roll
If you love pumpkin rolls in the fall, you've got to try a carrot cake roll for spring! Soft carrot cake rolled up with cream cheese frosting.
Servings: 12
Calories: 298kcal
Cost: $10
Equipment
- Electric mixer
- 13 x 18 jelly roll pan
- Mixing bowls
- Parchment paper
- Plastic Wrap
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 TB oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups finely shredded carrots
Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Cake Instructions
- To Prep: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13x18 baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray and line with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl using an electric hand mixer), beat together the eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla until frothy. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients, until smooth.
- Fold the shredded carrots into the cake batter, then scoop onto the prepared pan and spread evenly.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cakes springs back when touched and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Quickly remove the cake from the baking sheet, but leave it on the parchment paper. Roll up the cake with the parchment paper, so the cake won't stick to itself. Allow to cool completely.
To Make the Filling and Roll
- Using an electric mixer, cream together butter and softened cream cheese, until smooth.
- Gradually beat in powdered sugar and vanilla.
- Carefully unroll the carrot sheet cake. If the cake still feels warm to the touch, allow it to cool longer before frosting.
- If the cake is cool, evenly spread the cream cheese filling on the surface of the cake.
- Re-roll the cake as tightly as possible, but be sure to remove the parchment paper as you go. When the cake is rolled up, wrap it in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge overnight.
- When ready to serve, remove plastic and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Notes
Nutrition information is an estimate only and will vary based on exact ingredients used and serving size.
Nutrition
Calories: 298kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 80mg | Sodium: 248mg | Potassium: 140mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 4114IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 1mg
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Pumpkin Roll with Cream Cheese Filling
Stacey is the creator of The Soccer Mom Blog, a Houston Texas mom blog that focuses on positive living for women and families. She loves to share real food recipes, money-saving tips, parenting encouragement, kids activities, DIY tutorials, home hacks, fitness, and so much more! To get to know Stacey even better, click here.
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Holly says
Love this! <33