Carrot Cake Roll

This easy carrot cake roll is moist, tender, and flavored with cinnamon, carrots, raisins, and walnuts. The soft cake is rolled up with my favorite cream cheese filling!

The secret to this carrot cake roll…BOURBON. Yes, I soaked this whole cake in a bourbon simple syrup. That marked the day that I learned what every Southerner probably already knew: that bourbon and carrot cake belong together. The soft, tender cake—it has the perfect amount of raisins just bringing a little sweetness, and a hint of little cinnamon. That tangy cream cheese buttercream—yes. Delightful.

I am not often surprised with pastry anymore, but the electricity of this carrot cake roll absolutely knocked me off my feet. This particular recipe is based on my easy carrot cake, so easy you can make it in one bowl! If you are a carrot cake purist, I’d opt to omit the raisins like I do in the best carrot cake recipe that beat Bobby Flay! It’s perfect for Mother’s Day, Easter, or just Saturday brunch!

Professional Tips

• Shred your own carrots. You cannot substitute for freshly shredded carrots that you squeeze off excess moisture. I use cheesecloth or a tea towel in a pinch. Pre-grated carrots will be fatter and have variable amounts of moisture.
• Avoid over- or under- baking. Unfortunately, an over-baked cake will be dry and have a tendency to crack. Fix it by making a quick bourbon simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water brought to a boil and mixed with bourbon) and brushing the cake with the syrup prior to rolling. An under-baked cake is possibly worse because it will be sticky and gooey, and it will stick to the towel, to you, and to basically everything you don’t want it to stick to.
• Cool your cake in a tea towel. Cooling the cake in a clean kitchen towel really does make a world of difference! It also keeps your cake moist. Pre-roll your roulade before adding the buttercream, and let it cool almost all the way. Add your buttercream, and the cake will be trained to want to be in the rolled shape for the REAL ROLL round. Winning.

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour has just the right amount of gluten to make a tender, soft cake.
• Baking Powder: Double acting baking powder ensures a consistent and even rise, unlike baking soda alone.
• Ground Cinnamon
• Kosher Salt: Kosher salt will amplify all the other flavors and really make this cake stand out.
• Large Eggs: Whole eggs help emulsify the oil into the batter, creating a moist (not greasy) cake.
• Vegetable Oil: Vegetable oil makes cake rolls, such as this chocolate cake roll, exceptionally moist. Be sure to choose a neutral oil because there is enough in this cake that you will taste it if you use olive oil or a blend.
• White Sugar: I use granulated sugar in this cake. It is here for sweetness, but also to aid in leavening, moisture, texture and stability.
• Light Brown Sugar
• Grated Carrots: I use freshly peeled, grated and squeezed medium carrots for carrot cake and carrot cake scones. I also use horse carrots if I can find them. They are bigger, juicier, and more flavorful than the skinny ones in the bags! If your grocery store has loose fresh carrots, chances are they are horse carrots. Use a box grater or food processor for even sizes!
• Walnuts: Walnuts are optional here. When I use them I lightly toast them first to bring out their best flavor.
• Raisins
• Bourbon whiskey
• Cream Cheese: I use original Philadelphia Cream Cheese for all my baked goods including frostings and buttercreams. You can use reduced fat, but don’t use whipped cream cheese because it will make the buttercream too soft and it won’t be stable.
• Butter: I use unsalted butter for frostings and baking in general, because you want to control the amount of salt you are adding. In frostings and buttercreams, the butter is there for stability. It will firm up when cold.
• Powdered Sugar: Confectioners’ sugar is useful for frosting because it is a fine powder, so it creates a smooth, silky buttercream without the application of heat.
• Lemon Juice
• Vanilla Extract

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations

• Experiment with mix-ins! You can omit the raisins and walnuts. Or, substitute them for another dried fruit or nut of your choosing. Pecans would be perfect in this. You could even add a little pineapple, like I have in my hummingbird cake!
• Swap out the buttercream. I’m a sucker for cream cheese buttercream, but this cake would also taste delicious with vanilla swiss meringue buttercream or caramel swiss meringue buttercream! 
• Use different spices. You could add cloves, a teaspoon ground nutmeg or a teaspoon ground ginger for extra warmth, homemade apple pie spice, or pumpkin pie spice like I do in my pumpkin roll recipe!

Instructions: How to Make a Carrot Cake Roll

Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below!

Make the cake:

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray a half-sheet pan or large jelly roll pan with nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment paper.

Step 2: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

Step 3: In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs until smooth. Slowly whisk in the oil to emulsify. When you should be pale and voluminous.

Step 4: Whisk the sugars into the wet ingredient mixture. Fold the dry ingredient mixture into the wet.

Step 5: Fold in carrots, walnuts, and raisins.

Step 6: Pour batter into the prepared baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until there is a slight resistance and spring-back when touched lightly in the center. The top will begin to brown slightly.

Step 7: Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a tea towel. Gently pre-roll the cake to accustom it to its new, not-flat shape. Allow to cool most of the way in the towel, then unroll and cool completely. This will help keep it from cracking later.

During the cake’s chilling time, make the simple syrup and buttercream:

Step 8: Simple Syrup: Stir together water and sugar in a small pot. Bring just to a boil, then remove from heat and cool completely. Refrigerate. Mix about ¼ cup of the simple syrup with 2 tablespoons of bourbon (more or less to taste).

Step 9: Buttercream: Cream together cream cheese, butter, and sugar until smooth. Add lemon juice and vanilla extract. If it gets too warm, chill it. Just pop the whole bowl and attachments in the fridge and give it an hour. Beat with your stand mixer’s paddle attachment.

Assemble:

Step 10: Once cool, soak the cake lightly with the simple syrup and spread a ⅛-inch thick layer of buttercream on the inside, leaving about a ½-inch space at the end of the cake that is frosting-free.

Step 11: Roll tightly, starting from the center of the side, then top with more buttercream, dust with powdered sugar, or a cream cheese glaze.

Frequently Asked Questions

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed this professional chef tested recipe. Check out our other delicious, chef-developed cake recipes!