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So excited to share my Zucchini Cake Roll recipe! This has a fantastic chocolate cream cheese filling which pairs deliciously with the zucchini roll. Each slice of this cake roll has a beautiful swirl of zucchini cake and yummy chocolate filling.
Cake Roll with Zucchini
I have made a cake roll recipe almost every other month: gingerbread cake roll, chocolate cake rolls, chocolate sponge cake, carrot cake rolls, swiss cake rolls, birthday cake rolls, I mean you name it. But this one? It’s a favorite!
I couldn’t help myself but try another zucchini recipe. I’ve just been obsessed with how amazing this vegetable compliments sweet desserts. This jelly roll cake is made from my favorite vegetable, zucchini, and is rolled with a fantastic chocolate cream cheese frosting filling. I didn’t want to use a regular whipped cream filling because zucchini tastes so good with chocolate. But don’t worry, my favorite chocolate filling is so easy to make.
Ingredients Needed
- Eggs: Large eggs are the #1 leavener in this recipe – they’re what creates the sponge.
- Oil: to bake, I like to use a neutral oil like vegetable oil so it doesn’t compromise any flavors
- Baking powder: Helps the cake get fluffy
- Cinnamon: A must with any zucchini desserts!
- Zucchini: shredded zucchini from either one large or two small zucchini
- Powdered sugar: this is to help with rolling and for the frosting
- Cocoa powder: I’m using unsweetened cocoa powder to turn my cream cheese frosting into a chocolate version!
How to make zucchini cake roll
- Preheat oven to 350° and prepare baking pan with parchment paper.
- Beat eggs until frothy and dark yellow. This is a very important step – do not skimp on time. Beat them for the full 5 minutes to ensure a soft and moist fluffy cake.
- Mix in sugar, oil, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl.
- Whisk together salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and flour. Stir into wet ingredients then stir in shredded zucchini.
- Spread mixture in a jelly roll pan (a 10×15-inch pan with 1-inch sides). The batter will be in a very thin layer and you will need to use a wooden spoon or spatula to spread it to all the corners of the pan.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes.
- Sprinkle the kitchen towel with powdered sugar while the cake is baking. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, turn it over on the kitchen towel sprinkled with powdered sugar.
- Roll tightly, rolling up the cake into the towel.
- Cool completely while rolled, for at least two hours.
How to fill a cake roll
- Make the frosting: beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth, then beat in powdered sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form.
- Carefully unroll the towel with the cake inside.
- Spread the filling on the cake evenly, and re-roll tightly.
- Chill until it firms up a bit, at least thirty minutes to one hour.
- Slice and serve.
Frosting variations
If you want to use a different frosting, try these:
Expert Tips
- Cake can be wrapped in plastic and frozen for up to one month.
- You cannot use a cake mix for cake roll recipes unless you use a special cake mix cake roll recipe.
- You know a cake roll is done baking when it bounces back when you press it lightly.
- You must use LOTS of powdered sugar on your rolling towel. I use 1/4 cup usually.
- The cake must be completely cool before unrolling.
- After filling and re-rolling, chill for at least 30 minutes (or longer!) before slicing.
- If your cake roll cracks, just make extra icing to frost the entire thing with – no one will know!
FAQs
Why did my cake roll crack?
Cake rolls can crack when they’re under done or over done, so make sure the sponge is done properly.
Can you make this ahead of time?
Yes! Form your cake roll and allow it to chill even overnight to continue to the following day.
Zucchini Cake Roll with Chocolate Cream Cheese Filling
Fresh from the garden, this Zucchini Cake Roll is the perfect way to use up all your zucchini! And it’s filled with chocolate cream cheese frosting!
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Cooling Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 50 minutes
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 3 large eggs
- ⅔ cup (134g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ¾ cup (93g) all-purpose flour
- 2 cups (206g) shredded zucchini (1 large or 2 small)
- Powdered sugar to aid in rolling (see note)
For the Filling:
- 4 ounces (113g) cream cheese room temperature
- 4 tablespoons (57g) butter room temperature
- 2 tablespoons (10g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ½ cups (170g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line a jelly roll (10×15”) pan with foil and spray with cooking spray (I like to use the spray with flour).
- Beat eggs at high speed for 5 minutes, until frothy and dark yellow. Beat in sugar, oil, and vanilla extract.
- Whisk together salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and flour. Stir into wet ingredients just until blended. Stir in zucchini.
- Spread in prepared pan. Batter will be in a very thin layer and you will need to use a wooden spoon or spatula to spread it to all the corners of the pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes. The top will bounce back slightly.
- While the cake is baking, set a clean kitchen towel out on a large work surface. Sprinkle liberally with powdered sugar. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, turn it over on the kitchen towel sprinkled with powdered sugar. Remove foil carefully.
- Working at the short end, fold the edge of the towel over the cake. Roll tightly, rolling up the cake into the towel. Let cool completely while rolled, at least two hours.
- While the cake is cooling, make the frosting. Beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla.
- When cake is cool, carefully unroll the towel. Spread the filling on the cake evenly, and re-roll tightly. Chill until it firms up a bit, at least thirty minutes to one hour. Slice and serve.
- Cake can be wrapped in plastic and frozen for up to one month.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- If you want to frost the outside of the cake too, double the frosting.
- This is a moist cake; I don’t recommend rolling it in parchment paper because it will stick.
- It shouldn’t crack as long as it’s baked all the way because of the moisture, but if it does double the frosting and frost the outside.
Recipe Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 232kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 66mg | Sodium: 177mg | Potassium: 142mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 353IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Hi and thank you!
Haven’t tried it yet but I was always told to use waxed paper instead of foil. Have you ever tried that?
You can’t bake on wax paper because it’ll melt into the cake. But you can use parchment!
You can use wax paper. I’ve made several zucchini rolls/pumpkin rolls with using wax paper. Never melted in the cake
To be fair I only used the cake recipe and did a different filling for the cake so i’ll only comment on that. The cake was really wet despite leaving it in the oven almost double the time. The taste was also sort of flour-y. Not sure what I did wrong.
Everything you have posted looks awesome and I am going to try, yes try to make a roll up cake, you have some really wonderful ideas thank you
Hi Dorothy! I’m going to attempt to make a cake roll!! ? Your directions make it sound easy!! Can I use this frosting another one of your recipes? (I think it has a ganache filling).
Thanks!
did you mean stir and zucchini instead of carrots
How do I find your video’s? I am trying to make your cake roll for the first time and I would like to see how you do it to get a better idea on the rolling part. Could you let me know please.
Thank You
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