Chocolate roll

This soft and moist chocolate roll cake with delicious cream cheese frosting and chocolate glaze is an amazing-looking chocolate dessert you can easily make at home.

Why you should try this chocolate roll cake recipe

• A sponge that doesn’t break on you. If you’re familiar with making a Swiss cake rolls, you know that without a good sponge, this rolled cake is impossible to make. It should be soft, moist, and bendable so you can roll it without breaking. This recipe provides all the knowledge you need to make a perfect sponge for a chocolate Swiss roll cake. If you want to try a roll cake with a different flavor, check out my Pumpkin Roll recipe.
• Perfectly sweetened. If you enjoy light desserts that are not overly sweet, you should give this cake roll a try.

Looking for more chocolate desserts? I've got you covered! Try this Chocolate mousse cake, this Chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting or make these easy-to-make Chocolate crinkle cookies.

Ingredients you will need

• Flour – Use all-purpose flour to make this chocolate roll recipe.
• Cocoa powder – You will need unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder.
• Salt
• Baking powder
• Large eggs
• Sugar – Use white granulated sugar for the sponge and powdered sugar for the cream.
• Vanilla extract
• Whole milk     
• Vegetable oil – You will need any odorless vegetable oil such as canola or sunflower seed oil for the sponge as well as for the chocolate glaze.
• Instant coffee
• Cream cheese 
• Heavy cream
• Chocolate – I use semi-sweet chocolate for the glaze, but you can replace it with milk chocolate if you want, or use Chocolate ganache instead.

Cooking tips

• Bake the cake batter right away. Similar to this Genoise sponge, our chocolate sponge is made with egg foam which means that the faster we work with the batter, the fluffier the cake will turn out. If you leave the freshly whipped batter in the bowl for too long, the air bubbles inside will start bursting which will cause our sponge to bake flatter than we would like.
• Don’t overbake the sponge. This chocolate sponge is very thin and it takes only 10 minutes to bake. So, don’t go far away from your oven, and check for doneness once the time is up. If the sponge has set on the top and it bounces back if you gently press on it, take it out from the oven and remove from the pan onto the kitchen towel as fast as you can. An overbaked sponge will become very dry and brittle.
• Don’t overwhip the cream. When working with cream cheese frosting, be careful to not overwhip it. If you do, you will need to start all over again. To avoid overwhipping, stop your mixer every 10 seconds once you notice that the cream starts to become thicker to check the texture. Once the cream is thick enough to hold shape well, stop your mixer.

How to make a chocolate roll cake

Making the sponge

1. Preheat the oven to 390F (200C) and line a 12” x 17” (30cm x 40cm) baking pan with parchment paper.
2. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
3. Beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla on medium-high speed for 7-10 minutes or until the mixture has tripled in volume and become pale yellow and thick.
4. Sift in the dry ingredients gradually and fold with a rubber spatula until no dry ingredients are left.
5. In a small bowl, add the milk, oil, instant coffee, and two tablespoons of the cake batter. Mix well.

1. Add the milk and oil mixture to the main batter and fold with the spatula.
2. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly. Bake for 10 minutes or until fully set and the top is springy to the touch.
3. Remove the cake from the oven and check if the sides are stuck to the pan. If yes, carefully unstack them without breaking the cake. 
4. Then lift the cake from the pan, holding onto the sticking parts of the paper, and flip it onto the towel dusted with powdered sugar. Carefully peel off the parchment paper.
5. Roll the cake together with the towel and let it cool like that.

Making the cream cheese filling

1. Place all the filling ingredients into the bowl and whip on medium for 30 seconds.
2. Scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl and whip on medium-high to stiff peaks. 

Assembling and decorating the cake

1. Unroll the fully-cooled sponge. Place all cream on top and spread evenly across the surface.
2. Roll it back up, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
3. Place the chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave until fully melted.
4. Add the oil and mix well until homogeneous in consistency.
5. Glaze the chilled chocolate cake roll to your liking. 

Possible variations

• Decorate with the cream – Go ahead and make it look fancy! Just throw on extra cream in a fun swirl (I recommend using half of the batch of cream cheese buttercream from my Easy carrot cake recipe for a stable frosting). It's not just about how it tastes; it's about making it all pretty and exciting for your taste buds.
• Add nuts or dried fruits – Want a bit of a crunch or a sweet surprise? Fold some chopped nuts or those little chewy dried fruits like apricots or cranberries into the cream and then assemble the cake.
• Dust with cocoa powder or powdered sugar – Finish it off with a sprinkle of cocoa powder or powdered sugar. You know, for that extra flair. Cocoa if you're feeling all chocolatey, or powdered sugar if you want a touch of sweetness. It's the last little detail that makes it look and taste awesome.

FAQ

More cake recipes to try

Chocolate Bundt cake

Chocolate pound cake

Chocolate Pavlova

Recipe card

Chocolate roll

This soft and moist chocolate roll cake with delicious cream cheese frosting and chocolate glaze is an amazing-looking chocolate dessert you can easily make at home.

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes

Chilling: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 2 hours hours 45 minutes minutes

Servings: 10 servings

Calories: 328kcal

Author: Anna

Equipment

• Digital kitchen scale
• Stand mixer or hand mixer
• Rubber spatula
• 12” x 17” (30cm x 40cm) baking pan 
• Parchment paper

Ingredients

For the sponge

• 90 g all-purpose flour
• 20 g Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 4 large eggs at room temperature
• 100 g sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoon whole milk at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil such as canola or sunflower seed oil
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee

For the filling

• 200 g cream cheese cold
• 150 ml heavy whipping cream cold
• 50 g powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the glaze

• 100 g semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil such as canola or sunflower seed oil

MetricUS Customary

Instructions

For the sponge

• Preheat the oven to 390F (200C) and line a 12” x 17” (30cm x 40cm) baking pan with parchment paper.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
• In another mixing bowl, add the eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high speed for 7-10 minutes or until the mixture has tripled in volume and become pale yellow and thick.
• Sift in the dry ingredients gradually and fold with a rubber spatula until no dry ingredients are left.
• In a small bowl, add the milk, oil, instant coffee, and two tablespoons of the cake batter. Mix well.
• Add the milk and oil mixture to the main batter and fold with the spatula.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly. Bake for 10 minutes or until fully set and the top is springy to the touch.
• Meanwhile, place a kitchen towel on your working surface and sprinkle it with powdered sugar. The size of the towel should be enough to roll the cake into it.
• Remove the cake from the oven and check if the sides are stacked in the pan. If yes, carefully unstack them without breaking the cake. Help with a small knife if needed.
• Then lift the cake from the pan, holding onto the sticking parts of the paper, and flip it onto the towel dusted with powdered sugar. Carefully peel off the parchment paper.
• Roll the cake together with the towel and let it cool like that.

For the filling

• Place all the filling ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a bowl and a hand mixer) and whip on medium for 30 seconds until well combined.
• Scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl and whip on medium-high to stiff peaks. Do not overwhip!
• Assembling the cake
• Unroll the fully-cooled sponge. Place all cream on top and spread evenly across the surface.
• Roll it back up, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

For the glaze

• Place the chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave until fully melted.
• Add the oil and mix well until homogeneous in consistency.
• Glaze the chilled cake roll to your liking. You can cover the cake fully with the glaze, create different patterns, or make chocolate drips.

Video

Notes

Store the cake in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Chocolate roll

Serving Size

 

1 serving

Amount per Serving

Calories

328

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

21

g

32

%

Saturated Fat

 

11

g

69

%

Trans Fat

 

0.03

g

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

3

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

6

g

Cholesterol

 

104

mg

35

%

Sodium

 

232

mg

10

%

Potassium

 

171

mg

5

%

Carbohydrates

 

30

g

10

%

Fiber

 

2

g

8

%

Sugar

 

20

g

22

%

Protein

 

6

g

12

%

Vitamin A

 

595

IU

12

%

Vitamin C

 

0.1

mg

0

%

Calcium

 

65

mg

7

%

Iron

 

2

mg

11

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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