Carrots are one of those vegetables that are often described as sweet, so carrot cake makes sense on paper. However, if you’ve ever eaten a crudité platter, you know that carrots are a gamble. The non-sweet carrots quickly turn bitter or downright soapy, and that’s not how anyone wants to describe your cake. Instead of crossing your fingers, you can ensure a better cake by roasting your carrots first.

Roasting vegetables evaporates water (excess water from raw carrots is one of the culprits of soggy carrot cake) and, thanks to the Maillard reaction, creates new, delicious flavors. Roasting also encourages the caramelization of the natural sugars, so even the soapiest carrots turn into sweeter morsels after a thorough roasting.

To do this, I line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place the carrots on it. If you are using baby carrots, you don’t need to cut them, but if you are using larger carrots, break them into about 2-inch pieces. Drizzle the carrots with a little oil and toss them around with your hands to make sure they are completely coated in oil. Bake them in a 350°F (175°C) oven for about 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center has browned on the underside (that’s a sure sign that the flavors have developed). It’s best if you can roast the carrots ahead of time and keep them in the fridge until you’re ready to use them.

I’m pretty picky about how I like my carrot cake. I hate it when it’s too heavy with extra ingredients, or soaked with the juices of pineapple, raw carrots steaming in the mix, and raisins. And the grating? Forget it.