St. Patrick’s Day is the perfect time to add a little extra green (and a whole lot of sweetness) to your get togethers. And what better way to do that than with a festive recipe like this one for our Clover Cake Roll? This seasonal specialty features a spiced Carrot Cake Cake Roll covered in smooth buttercream and finished with a charming, four-leaf clover design. It is guaranteed to be the perfect finishing touch to your holiday spread.
More Spring-Themed Desserts for Your Seasonal Celebrations
Flowerpot Cakes
These cakes are charming, delicious treats that really capture the essence of spring. They feature layers of chocolate goodness, from the rich Chocolate Crème Cake Roll slices to the decadent pudding to the crushed cookies. Then, the dessert is adorned with meticulously crafted gum paste flowers, creating a stunning presentation that is sure to impress at any spring celebration.
Mint Chocolate Green Ombre Cake Roll
This cake roll is simple but elegant. The base is a rich, decadent chocolate cake that has been rolled in a vanilla-flavored crème filling. It is covered in a buttercream frosting that has been flavored with mint to give the dessert an extra kick of flavor. The frosting is then dyed various shades of green to create the ombre effect. Finally, the top and sides are decorated with more frosting and themed sprinkles.
Lemon Drip Cake
Moist and packed full of lemon flavor, from the cake to the crème filling, it’s a citrus lover’s dream. The beautiful yellow drip and decorative lemon slices give it the perfect finishing touch. This confection is elegant, bright, and delicious, making it the ideal dessert to help you celebrate the warm days of spring.
What You’ll Need
- Stand mixer or hand mixer and bowl: to combine the ingredients to make your buttercream frosting and royal icing. For the royal icing, we recommend having a whisk attachment.
- Piping bag with Wilton Piping Tip 1: to create your royal icing shamrocks.
- Cake board: to place your cake roll on while decorating.
- Turntable: to use when decorating your cake.
- Bench scraper & offset spatula: to apply the buttercream to your cake roll.
- Piping bag with 1M star tip: to use when decorating your cake.
Storage Information
A frosted cake can last up to a week when stored in the refrigerator. The frosting helps to lock in the moisture of the cake, keeping it fresh while you wait to serve. If you cut the cake first and then want to store it, put the pieces in an airtight container or cover the cut sections with any leftover frosting you may have. The cake can be stored like this for a week in the refrigerator.
Tips for Making a Clover Cake Roll
- You can make this buttercream the day before you assemble your cake roll and refrigerate it overnight. Then, when you’re ready to start decorating your cake, take it out and let it come back up to room temperature. You may need to mix again for a few minutes before applying.
- Don’t take your cake roll out of the freezer until you are ready to start putting on the frosting. A cold cake is easier to decorate as it is less delicate. A room temperature cake is tender and fragile which means it is more likely to fall apart.
How to Create a Clover Cake Roll
Servings: The Clover Cake Roll will serve approx. 8 people, making it perfect for smaller gatherings or meals with a large dessert selection.
Ingredients
Royal Icing Shamrocks:
- 4 c. confectioner’s sugar, sifted
- 3 tbsp. meringue powder
- 9-10 tbsp. water, room temperature
- Optional: Green gel food coloring
Clover Cake Roll:
- 1 Dutch Apron® Bakery Carrot Cake Cake Roll
- 2 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. salt
- 7 c. powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 tbsp. heavy cream
Instructions
Make the Royal Icing Shamrocks
- In a large bowl, combine confectioner’s sugar, meringue powder, and 9 tbsp. room temperature water.
- Tip: Add water slowly to avoid icing becoming too thick.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat on high speed for 1.5-2 minutes, or until smooth. The icing should drizzle down and smooth out within 5-10 seconds.
- Add in a few drops of color and stir until you’ve reached a shade or two lighter than the desired color. Colors will darken a bit as they dry.
- Tip: After adding your color, check the consistency of your icing. If too thick, add more water 1 tbsp. at a time. If too thin, beat longer or add more sifted confectioner’s sugar.
- Using a piping bag fitted with a Wilton Piping Tip 1, pipe multiple small hearts onto parchment paper to create your shamrocks.
- Place them in the fridge until they harden.
Prepare the Buttercream Frosting
- In a stand mixer, beat butter until smooth and light in color, about 2 minutes.
- Turn mixer to low and slowly add powdered sugar. Once fully incorporated, add heavy cream, salt, and vanilla extract.
- Mix ingredients until well combined then scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Beat an additional 1-2 minutes until the frosting is smooth and fluffy.
Decorate the Cake Roll
- Remove the Carrot Cake Cake Roll from its packaging. Place a small amount of the buttercream on your cake board and place the cake roll on it vertically, so it is standing on one end.
- Carefully, move the cake and cake board to your turntable.
- Fill a piping bag with the buttercream frosting. Starting at the bottom of the cake roll, pipe a ring of frosting all the way around.
- Continue piping rings above each other until the entire cake roll is covered. Fill the top of the roll with frosting as well.
- Using a bench scraper, smooth the frosting around the sides of the cake while spinning the turntable. Wipe off excess frosting from the bench scraper after every pass.
- Fit a piping bag with a 1M star tip and pipe swirls of frosting around the top of the cake roll.
- Arrange the royal icing shamrocks on the cake’s sides and top for a festive finish.
Sweetening Life’s Special Moments!
