Carrot Cake Roll
This twist on a classic Swiss roll is a graham cracker carrot cake rolled up with a delcious brown sugar cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
Carrot Cake:
- 60 grams all purpose flour (½ cup)
- 68 grams graham cracker crumbs (½ cup plus 2 Tablespoons)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea or table salt
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- 3 large eggs, separated
- 150 grams sugar, divided (¾ cup)
- 60 grams sour cream (¼ cup )
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoon molasses
- 210 grams shredded carrots (1¾ cups)
Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 43 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature (3 teaspoons)
- 74 grams light brown sugar (⅓ cup, packed)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon molasses (optional)
- Pinch salt
- 150 grams confectioner’s sugar (1¼ cups, plus more as needed)
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a jelly roll pan (10 inches by 15 inches) with parchment paper so that the parchment is flat on the bottom and comes up at least one inch on the 10 inch sides of the pan. (This extra parchment on the short sides of the pan will make it easy to lift to hot cake from the pan when it comes out of the oven.) Spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray, making sure to coat the sides along the 15 inch sides. Place parchment back into the pan and spray it will a little more non-stick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside, but hold onto the whisk.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites on low-medium speed until they start to get foamy. Increase the speed to medium-high. Once the mixture is mostly white and not clear, slowly add only half (approximately 75 g.) of the sugar with the mixer running. Add just a little bit, let it get incorporated into the whites, then add a little more. Keep repeating until you have used apprxomately half the sugar. Set the remaining sugar aside. Increase the mixer speed to high and whisk until the egg whites are shiny and stiff.
- While the egg whites are beating, in a separate, large mixing bowl, whisk (use the one you used on the dry ingredients) together the egg yolks and the rest of the sugar until thick and pale in color. Whisk in the sour cream, vanilla and molasses.
- Fold some (no more than ⅓) of the stiff egg whites into the egg yolk/sugar/sour cream mixture just until the are barely any white streaks. Add another ⅓ of the whites and fold until almost incorporated. Add the remianing egg white and fold just until fully incorporated.
- Fold in half the dry ingredients until almost fully combined. Fold in the remaining dry ingrdients just until fully incorporated.
- Fold in the carrots to the batter.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan with a metal spatula, making sure it is even throughout the pan. Gently tap the pan on the counter to break any large air bubbles. Bake 14-18 minutes. A toothpick inserted should come out dry.
- Within one minute of removing the cake from the oven, lift the cake from the pan by holding the parchment overlays along the 10 inch sides. Place the hot cake on a heatproof surface. Immedately and carefully roll the cake up. Allow the cake to cool completely while rolled up
Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- In the bowl of an electric mixer (or using a hand mixer), cream together the cream cheese and butter until fully combined. Add the brown sugar, mixing until fully combined. Allow to sit 5-10 minutes for the brown sugar to fully dissolve into the mixture.
- Beat in vanilla, mollasses and salt until fully combined. On a low speed, slowly add the confectioner's sugar. Once fully combined, beat on high for several minutes until light and fluffy.
Assembly
- Gently unroll the cooled cake and remove the parchment paper.
- Use a metal spatula to frost the cake evenly all over.
- Roll the cake back up. Place it on a serving platter with the seam side down. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
Notes
- Prior to serving, slice off the ends of the cake for a cleaner look.
- If garnishing with confectioner's sugar, sprinkle it on just before serving. The cake will absorb the confectioner's sugar within a few minutes.
- Store the cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will keep for at least 5 days. Alternatively, wrap individual slices and store in the freezer so you can grab a slice whenever the craving hits.
Nutrition
Calories: 197kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 46mg | Sodium: 169mg | Potassium: 105mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 2424IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 1mg
