Rolling Out a Carrot Cake

I’m a sucker for sweet treats, such as homemade cakes, tarts, and pies. If I want to whip up something new, I practice until my brain surrenders. Lately, l have been on a mission to perfect my carrot cake and l finally succeeded. For years, carrot cake was not on my list of favorites. The idea of a vegetable-based cake did not appeal to me. I had tried several variations from bakeries before, but they were consistently too sweet or sometimes too dry.

Recently, an award-winning carrot cake recipe caught my attention with its inclusion of pineapple, coconut and toasted walnuts. However, l noted the recipe contained more sugar than l prefer, and the frosting was not to my liking, so l made some adjustments. The first attempt yielded positive results from my family and neighbors, while the second attempt, which substituted raisins for pineapple, was less well-received by my friends. On another occasion, I used fresh pineapple, which resulted in a deeper aroma, but the cake was denser. When Mother’s Day arrived, I received requests for the cake from friends and neighbors. The feedback was positive and I was encouraged to start making them weekly.

This marked the culmination of my carrot cake journey — I finally felt I’d perfected the recipe. I have since made various versions, including three-layer, four-layer, round and rectangle cakes for family gatherings, birthdays and other celebrations. However, my family has started to express a desire for variety, with my boys even commenting, “Not carrot cake again.” Most recently, l have been enjoying making simpler and less time-consuming carrot cake rolls for friends and customers. It uses only half the recipe, so l can easily finish the last piece in a few days.

My Almost Famous Carrot Cake Roll

Candied carrots, carrot ribbons, edible flowers or mint leaves all make lovely garnish for this cake.

For the cake:

1 cup finely grated carrot

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 cup cake flour

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

A pinch of nutmeg

A pinch of ground cloves

2 medium eggs

½ cup brown or white sugar

1⁄3 cup vegetable oil

1⁄3 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 tablespoons crushed pineapple, well drained

2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut flakes

2 tablespoons finely ground roasted walnuts (optional)

For the frosting:

2 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons butter, softened

2 ounces mascarpone cheese, softened

¼ cup heavy whipping cream

½ cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

For garnish:

1⁄3 cup roasted walnuts (red walnuts if available)

Heat oven to 350F. Place a parchment paper on a 11-by-11-inch cake pan or a 9-by-13-inch cake pan so there is at least 1 inch overhang for lifting the cake out later. Also make sure the paper fits the pan’s corners neatly by cutting and tucking the corners of the parchment. You can also use a little of the cake batter to secure the corners.

Add 1 tablespoon of brown sugar to the grated carrot, mix and set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves together and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar until it reaches ribbon stage, thick and fluffy, forming a thick trail when the beater or whisk is lifted (3-5 minutes if using a standing mixer). Add oil, buttermilk and vanilla, and mix until creamy. Gradually add the flour mixture a little at a time, stirring as you go. Use a spatula to mix until well combined. Fold in the carrots, pineapple, coconut and walnuts.

Pour batter into the prepared cake pan and bake at 350F for about 18 minutes or until golden. Remove the cake from the oven. Carefully lift it from the pan using the parchment paper and place it on a cooling rack. Let it cool for 10 minutes.

Cut another sheet of parchment paper, allowing about 2 inches overhang on all sides. Place the paper on top of the cake and smooth it with your hand. Place your hand on the center of the cake to hold it, and quickly flip the cake over onto another rack. Do not remove the first sheet paper from the cake; it’ll keep the cake from drying out. Continue cooling the cake for another 20 minutes.

While the cake is cooling, make the frosting. Using a mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter. Add the mascarpone, whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla bean paste. Continue to beat until fluffy. Set aside.

Peel off the top sheet of paper. Spread ½ of the frosting evenly on the cake, leaving ½ inch at the edges. Roll the cake up from a short side by lifting the parchment paper on the bottom of the cake and gently pushing forward. The parchment and cake will separate as you roll. Now you have a cake roll. To secure it, l usually wrap it in foil paper and roll it up. Just make sure the foil paper is big enough to enclose both ends. Refrigerate for at least one hour to set. Unwrap and spread the rest of the frosting on the cake. Sprinkle with walnuts and other garnish. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

You can find Home Cooking with Wendy Chan (she/her) classes benefitting local charities on Facebook.

This article appears in ‘I Am an Artist’.