Carrot cake and the start of spring!
Carrot cake recipes have been everywhere recently, and that’s because they’re truly one of the best cakes to celebrate the arrival of springtime. Pair the delicious spiced, carrot-filled sponge with a smooth and tangy cream cheese frosting, and it’s the perfect combo. The flavors are fresh and bright, you can decorate with lots of cute carrots or Easter-themed decorations, and it just brings a bit of joy to the table. That’s where the idea for today’s recipe – carrot cake roulade – came from. We wanted to take those delicious and bright spring flavors and put them into a rolled-up cake, so that each slice makes you smile and the flavor combination is one of the best out there.
Decorate for Easter
The best part about a roulade is also that the look of it is pretty simple to master. The swirl is the impressive part, so make sure to follow the recipe closely so you get a smooth one without any cracks. Once you have that done, you’re good to go! The rest of the decoration is whatever you want it to be. We obviously have to add more of the delicious frosting on top, but you could do a chocolate ganache or whipped cream if you prefer. Mini eggs are easy to come by around Easter time and are a colorful and fun choice of decoration, and orange zest adds some brightness and sharp flavor. We also add a bit of pearl sugar because it’s pretty, but sprinkles work too. This is where you can either show off or keep it simple!
A slice of cake and coffee, what could be better?
When the weather starts to get warmer, there’s not much that beats a cup of coffee and a slice of cake outside in the spring sunshine. To be honest, I think that’s the case with every season! But the change in weather just serves as an even greater reminder to appreciate the little things in everyday life, like a cup of coffee and a slice of cake. This roulade is the perfect cake to enjoy alongside some afternoon coffee, because it’s perfectly balanced. The cream cheese frosting is tangy and not too sweet, while the cake provides a lot of flavor in a very light and fluffy sponge. It also keeps for a few days in the fridge, so if you do end up with leftovers, you can enjoy a slice with your coffee for several days after baking it.
Other roulade recipes to try
We’ve developed quite a few roulade recipes since we started Skandibaking, as it’s a classic cake in our family. For the most traditional of roulades, our raspberry version is simple, fluffy, and so delicious. Then, we put an autumnal twist on the recipe with a pumpkin spice roulade that combines spiced cake with orange marmalade filling for a super tasty seasonal treat. And then, in the winter, when you need a bit of brightness and citrus is in season, you can make our citronroulade (lemon roulade). It makes good use of one of our favorite fillings, lemon curd, which gives that tartness that is always needed in a cake.
Ingredients you’ll need
To make this roulade, there are three components: the sponge, cream cheese filling, and decorations. For the sponge, you’ll need eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, salt, baking powder, flour, and carrots. The filling consists of cream cheese, butter, powdered/icing sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and orange zest. The orange zest is optional, and you can also go for other citrus zest, like lemon or lime or grapefruit. Make sure to use full-fat cream cheese; if there’s too much water in it, it won’t whip up properly into a frosting consistency. Finally, for the decorations, it’s up to you! We like using mini eggs, extra orange zest, and pearl sugar, but other options include candied orange peel, sprinkles, chocolate pieces, etc.
How to make carrot cake roulade
Start by grating the carrots and squeezing out the liquid. You can do this with a cheesecloth, dishtowel, or paper towel (use two layers). This just helps remove some of the moisture so the cake doesn’t get too wet. Next, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla until super light and fluffy. Combine the dry ingredients separately in a bowl, then fold them into the egg mixture along with the carrots. Be very gentle so you don’t deflate the eggs, and stop once no dry spots remain. Spread this onto a baking sheet and bake – the cake is very thin, so it doesn’t take long!
Once the cake is baked and has cooled for a few minutes, flip it onto a baking sheet lined with sugar. Roll into a log carefully, and let this fully cool while rolled up. In the meantime, whip together the frosting ingredients until light and fluffy. Unroll the log and add the filling, then roll it up again. Time to decorate! Top with more frosting and decorations of your choice, cut yourself a beautiful slice, and enjoy!
Carrot Cake Roulade
Ingredients
SPONGE
- 150 grams grated carrot (weighed before squeezing out liquid)
- 4 large eggs (room temperature)
- 130 grams sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 150 grams all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp ground cloves
- ⅛ tsp ground cardamom
- ⅛ tsp ground ginger
CREAM CHEESE FILLING
- 113 grams unsalted butter (softened)
- 150 grams full fat cream cheese (softened)
- 150 grams icing sugar
- Splash of vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- Orange zest (optional)
DECORATION
- Cadbury mini eggs, orange zest, sprinkles, pearl sugar, candied orange, etc!
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 390 F (200 C).
- Peel and finely grate carrots until you have 150g, then wrap the grated carrot in a few layers of paper towel or a cheese cloth and squeeze out the excess liquid. Set aside to add to the sponge towards the end.
- Add your eggs and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix with the whisk attachment until light and fluffy and tripled in size (about 5 minutes). Add your vanilla extract and mix to combine.
- Meanwhile, measure out your flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and ginger in a mixing bowl.
- Sift your dry ingredients into your egg mixture in two parts, folding gently to combine. You can also use the stand mixer to whisk the ingredients together, being careful not to overmix.
- Once the dry ingredients have been incorporated, add in the grated carrot and fold together gently until evenly distributed.
- Spread your batter onto a parchment lined rectangular baking sheet (we bake this on a half sheet sized baking sheet), aiming for about half an inch thickness (about 1.25cm).
- Bake for 6-8 minutes – make sure not to overbake! Check it right after 6 minutes. Overbaking will make this sponge tough. One way to test this is if you tap the top of the sponge with your finger it should feel springy and not leave an indent (don't burn yourself doing this!).
- Once your sponge is baked, let it cool for just a few minutes and then turn out onto a rectangular piece of parchment paper dusted with a generous layer of granulated sugar. The sugar helps prevent it from sticking to the parchment paper later.
- You want to do this while the sponge is still warm, so it doesn't crack later!
- Roll up your sponge and parchment paper along the short edge.
- Let it cool completely in its rolled up shape.
- While the sponge is cooling, prepare the cream cheese filling. Add butter and cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk together until well incorporated.
- Add in icing sugar, a pinch of salt, vanilla extract, and orange zest.
- Whisk together until light and fluffy.
- When the sponge has cooled, unroll it and spread about 3/4 of the frosting mixture across the sponge evenly.
- Carefully roll up your sponge again, the same way you did the first time, but leaving out the parchment paper.
- Use the rest of the frosting to decorate the top. You can pipe it on, or just use a spoon to swirl the frosting! Then add any festive chocolates, sprinkles, candied orange, or other decor you would like! Slice and enjoy – store this cake in the fridge up to 4 days after baking.
