Delicious chocolate swiss roll cake that is soft, fluffy, and easy to make! With step by step instructions and tips for perfect results. The best chocolate cake roll you could make! EASY – This recipe is easy to make. Read the whole recipe first, so that you are familiar with the ingredients and technique. Have all the ingredients measured and ready to go before you start. The process will be easier than you think!US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Common Measurement Conversions. Weight measurements are recommended for accurate results.
45gwarm clarified butter3 tbsp, substitute with same amount of warm olive oil, vegetable oil, or vegan butter
2tspvanilla
½tspinstant coffee powder
50gAP flourabout 6 tbsp
30gDutch cocoa powder
½tspbaking powder
4large eggs
1egg yolk from a large egg
120gwhite sugar½ cup + 1 ½ tbsp
Generous ¼ tsp salt
Filling
1batch of faux swiss meringue chocolate buttercream
Instructions
Chocolate swiss roll
Lightly grease a 10 x 15 inch jelly roll pan with butter. Line it with parchment paper, with an overhang over the short edges (to make it easy to lift the cake from the pan). Dust the exposed edges with flour. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350°F / 180°C.
Cook about 60 g of butter until the milk solids separate. Measure out 45 g of the butterfat into a bowl (about 2 cup capacity).
Dissolve the coffee in the vanilla, and add it to the butter mix. Set aside.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder mixture in a separate small bowl.
Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a medium saucepan.
Place the eggs and yolk in a metal mixing bowl that can fit over the saucepan. Add the sugar and salt, and whisk to combine.
Place the bowl over the pan with simmering water (not touching the water) and whisk continuously for about 2 - 4 minutes until the egg mixture is warm to the touch, or until the eggs reach a temperature of about 110 - 120°F.
Remove the egg mixture from the heat. Remove the saucepan from the heat.
Place the mixing bowl in your stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed for about 5 - 6 minutes. The eggs should at least triple in size.
To see if it’s at the right consistency, take some of the egg mixture with your mixer whisk attachment and create some ribbons on the surface. The ribbons should remain on the surface without immediately disappearing.
Sift the dry ingredients over the surface of the egg mixture. Try to evenly sift the flour mixture over the surface, to prevent the flour from sinking to the bottom.
Using a wide spatula (or largest spatula you own), fold the flour into the egg mixture. Rotate the bowl after every fold to make sure all the flour is incorporating well, and there are no dry spots in the batter or the bottom of the bowl. Be careful not to deflate the mixture - ideally no more than 15 folds.
The butter vanilla mixture should be warm. If not, microwave it for a few seconds to make it warm.
Add roughly 1 cup of the cake batter (using your spatula) to the butter vanilla mix. Mix well until the butter has emulsified into the batter.
Gently pour the butter batter mix evenly over the surface of the rest of the batter in the mixing bowl. I use the flat side of my spatula to break the flow of the butter mixture, so that it doesn’t sink to the bottom of the bowl.
Fold the butter mixture into the rest of the cake batter mixture. Do this gently with as fewer folds as possible so as not to deflate the cake batter.
Pour all the cake batter into the prepared cake tray. Using an offset spatula, spread the batter into the corners of the tray, and make sure it's spread as evenly as possible.
Knock the tray on a firm surface about 4 times to get rid of any larger bubbles trapped in the batter. Give the tray a little shake to evenly spread the batter.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 10 - 15 minutes (13 minutes in my conventional oven), rotating halfway through the baking process if needed.
The cake is done when the surface is springy to the touch, or when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven. Let it cool for at most 1 minute (the cake needs to be warm and pliable for rolling up in the following step).
Rolling up the swiss roll cake
The bottom of the cake will be the presentation side for the swiss roll. So the cake will need to be rolled up with the presentation side on the bottom.
You can use the parchment paper you baked the cake in to roll up the swiss roll for convenience. If you prefer to use a new parchment paper, see recipe notes for directions.
Gently lift the cake from the baking tray and place it on your work surface (slip a cake lifter or flexible cutting board underneath for support if needed).
Sift confectioner's sugar or cocoa powder over the surface of the cake.
OPTIONALSTEP ONE - Along one of the short ends of the cake, make a diagonal cut as shown in the pictures in the post. This helps create a neat seal when the cake is rolled up, as described below.
OPTIONAL STEP TWO - On the opposite short end of the cake, make two shallow cuts (2 mm deep), parallel to the short edge. The first cut is 1 inch from the edge, and the second is 1 inch from the first cut. DO NOT cut all the way through! See pictures in the post for reference. This step helps maintain an even thickness as the cake is rolled up.
Fold about 1 inch of parchment paper overhang over the short edge with the shallow cuts, and start rolling up the cake into a spiral. Make sure the spiral is tight, but not too tight that it crushes the cake. Keep rolling until the cake is completely wrapped in parchment paper.
Use another parchment paper or cloth napkin to wrap the swiss roll further to help keep its shape. This will prevent unravelling. Make sure the cake is stored with the seam side down. Let it cool completely to room temperature.
Filling the cake
Once the cake is cooled, gently unroll the cake.
Spread an even layer of the chocolate buttercream, about ½ - 1 cm thick (¼ - ½ inch) over the surface of the cake. Leave about a 2 - 2.5 cm (1 inch) margin at the short edge with the diagonal cut.
Now roll up the cake again, but make sure to loosen the parchment paper from the cake as you go. Make sure the cake is firmly rolled up, while maintaining its shape, and the filling isn't squeezed out much. Wrap the cake well with parchment paper and/or a cloth napkin so that the cake doesn't lose its shape. You can use the parchment paper to shape the cake if the roll seems loose.
Refrigerate for a few hours until the cake and filling have firmed up.
Slice off the ends with a serrated knife, so that the swiss roll cake looks neat.
Serve with a dusting of confectioner's sugar on top.
How to switch the cake over to a new parchment paper for rolling up.
While the cake is in the baking tray, dust the surface with confectioner’s sugar.Place a piece of parchment paper or cloth napkin on top (so that the cake doesn’t stick), followed by a cutting board.Now carefully flip the cake over onto the cutting board. Peel off the parchment paper on the bottom of the cake.Now take another piece of parchment paper that is longer than the length of the swiss roll. You can also use a clean kitchen towel / cloth napkin as well. Place this on the cake surface.Now carefully flip the cake back over onto the new parchment paper (or cloth napkin). Remove the parchment paper and cutting board on top.The cake is now ready to be rolled up with the new parchment paper on the bottom.
Storing the cake
This roulade will taste best within the first few days.Vanilla swiss roll can be stored in an airtight container and then in the fridge for up to 5 days. If there are fruits in it, it will keep for fewer days as the fruits can go bad faster.An unfilled, rolled up cake can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months. Wrap the rolled up cake with plastic wrap (at least 2 layers), and then in a layer of foil. Then place it in a large enough container so that it doesn’t get crushed during storage. This will also help the cake maintain its shape. Thaw it out until it’s at room temperature before unrolling and filling.