This Gluten Free Carrot Cake Roll is a delicious twist on a classic Easter dessert. It's loaded with flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger & cloves, then filled with an irresistible homemade cream cheese frosting. This cake is completely gluten-free, and with small adaptations it can easily be dairy-free too!
Gluten Free Carrot Cake
Carrot Cake is a classic Easter dessert! Everyone has their own version, and this flavorful carrot cake roll is one of my favorites! If you love a pumpkin roll in the Fall, then you will definitely love this Spring addition.
It's perfect for Easter dessert, but you’ll want to keep this recipe in mind to make for picnics, birthday parties, a bridal or baby shower, or potluck dinners.
What Ingredients Do I Need
Here's what you'll need to make this Carrot Cake Roll:
- Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour
- Sugar
- Baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Spices: Ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg & cloves
- 3 eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- Oil. I used avocado oil, but melted coconut oil would also be delicious in this carrot cake roll.
- Shredded Carrots. You’ll need 2 cups of finely grated carrots.
- Powdered sugar. This doesn’t go in the cake, but gets dusted overtop the cake roll, and helps prevent sticking when rolling.
For the homemade cream cheese frosting, you’ll need:
- cream cheese
- butter
- powdered sugar
- vanilla extract
How to Make a Carrot Cake Roll
Making a homemade cake roll might look intimidating, but it's actually very easy. The only challenge is rolling the cake, but I hope my instructions help so you know exactly what to do!
Mix. In a medium mixing bowl, use a whisk to combine the dry ingredients. In a separate mixing bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla.
Add the dry mixture to the wet, and combine well. Fold in the finely grated carrots and stir by hand.
Bake. Pour the cake batter onto a prepared baking sheet and spread edge to edge. Bake at 350F for about 10-12 minutes. Be sure a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake.
Roll. As soon as you remove the cake from the oven, turn it onto a clean kitchen towel that has been very generously dusted with powdered sugar. The sugar helps prevent the cake from sticking to the towel. When you have the cake all rolled up, set it aside to cool completely to room temperature inside the towel. This usually takes about 30-45 minutes.
Make the frosting. While the cake is cooling, make the cream cheese frosting by beating together softened cream cheese and butter. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar and mix until completely combined and the frosting is smooth and creamy.
Assemble. Once the cake is cooled, gently unroll it from the towel and make sure it is fully released on all sides from the towel. Spread the frosting onto the cake roll, then very carefully roll the cake back up. Cover the cake roll with plastic wrap and freeze for 30 minutes.
I hope you enjoy this Easter treat! If you've tried this recipe, be sure to tag me on instagram @thrivingglutenfree so I can see how it turned out!
Let's bake!
Gluten Free Carrot Cake Roll
Equipment
- 1 Jelly Roll Pan 10x15
Ingredients
Carrot Cake Batter
- ¾ cup Gluten Free Flour I used King Arthur Measure for Measure
- 3 Eggs
- ⅔ cup Sugar
- 2 tablespoon Oil
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1½ teaspoon Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Ground Ginger
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Cloves
- 2 cups Shredded Carrots
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz Cream Cheese swap your favorite DF- I love Kite Hill.
- ½ cup Butter softened; use Earth Balance for DF.
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Optional
- ½ Chopped Pecans or Walnuts sprinkle on top of the cream cheese frosting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° and line a 10x15 baking sheet(jelly roll pan) with parchment paper. Leave extra on the sides so you can easily lift the cake after it's finished baking.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a separate mixing bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla.
- Add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients until well combined. Fold in the shredded carrots.
- Spread the batter evenly across your baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Oven times vary greatly-the cake should spring back when pressed lightly. *Insert a tooothpick to test...it should come out clean. If the cake is underbaked it is more likely to stick or tear when rolling,
- Once done baking, lay a clean dish towel on the counter then sprinkle with about ⅓ cup powdered sugar. The sugar will help keep the cake from sticking to the towel. Flip the cake onto the towel. Peel the parchment paper off, then roll the cake up into a long log. Let cool about 20 minutes.
- While the cake is cooling, make the cream cheese frosting. In a mixing bowl, cream together the cream cheese and softened butter. Add the confectioner's sugar and vanilla extract mixing until you have a smooth frosting.
- Once the cake is cooled, carefully unroll it then spread the frosting across the top of the cake. If you notice small breaks in the cake, don't worry! You can see in my pictures that there were some cracks, but after frosting and chilling, they were barely noticeable.
- After frosting, re-roll the cake, peeling away the towel as you go. Wrap the cake in saran wrap and freeze for 30 minutes or until ready to serve. If you freeze overnight or longer, defrost for at least 20-30 minutes before serving. Dust with powdered sugar, cut with a hot knife and enjoy!
Looking for more gluten-free dessert recipes? I think you'll love these!
- Gluten Free Cream Puffs
- Easy Gluten-Free Blueberry Pie Bars
- No-Bake Raspberry Cheesecake Cookie Bars {Grain-Free & Dairy-Free}
- The Best Gluten-Free Apple Crisp Recipe
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