Chocolate Swiss Roll

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With a light chocolate cake, whipped cream filling, and rich chocolate ganache, this Chocolate Swiss Roll recipe offers all the elements of the classic packaged treat – but better!

Why You’ll Love This Chocolate Swiss Roll Recipe

This chocolate cake roll uses the hot milk method, like a traditional sponge cake. It’s similar to the cake in my yule log but a bit different – it’s a bit fluffier and lighter, which is nice for creating a chocolate Swiss roll. Here are a few other reasons to try this recipe:

• Perfect texture. I love the texture of the ganache on the outside. It’s so amazing. And the light and simple whipped cream on the inside paired with the fluffy and light chocolate cake is amazing!
• Copycat recipe. With the almost slightly chewy ganache on the outside, whipped cream filling, and fluffy cake, this chocolate roll cake recipe is truly Swiss roll-like.
• Simple flavors. The flavors in this cake are simple – the rich chocolate in the cake and ganache and light vanilla flavor in the filling – but they’re perfect. Keeping it simple really lets the chocolate shine through!
• Impressive. There’s something about a cake roll that just feels special and looks impressive, despite being pretty simple and easy to make. It’s a great way to impress a crowd without as much effort as a layer cake.

Recipe Ingredients

Each part of this chocolate Swiss roll cake recipe requires just a handful of ingredients and most of them are pantry staples. Scroll down to the recipe card below for the exact measurements.

Chocolate Cake

• All-purpose flour – Be sure to measure your flour correctly to avoid a cake that’s too dry or dense.
• Cocoa powder – Dutch process cocoa powder gives the cake the rich chocolate flavor. I prefer the richer flavor of the darker cocoa, but you could use natural unsweetened cocoa powder too.
• Baking powder – Helps the cake rise.
• Espresso powder – Don’t worry, your cake won’t taste like coffee! Espresso powder simply enhances and emphasizes the rich chocolate flavor. Feel free to leave it out, if you like.
• Salt – Without a little salt, your cake would be bland.
• Egg – You’ll want large eggs for this recipe, not medium or extra large.
• Granulated sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Milk – Whole milk or 2% would be best.
• Unsalted butter – If you need to use salted butter, you may want to use slightly less added salt in the recipe.

Whipped Cream Filling

• Heavy whipping cream – It’s important that the whipping cream stays COLD until it’s time to use it. Otherwise, it won’t whip up properly and hold shape as well.
• Powdered sugar – Sweetens the filling and keeps it stable so that it never wilts. Do not leave this out.
• Vanilla extract

Chocolate Ganache

• Heavy whipping cream
• Semi-sweet chocolate – Use a quality chocolate for the best flavor. Finely chopped so it melts easily in the heavy whipping cream.
• Light corn syrup – Optional but adds a sheen to the ganache.

How To Make Chocolate Swiss Roll

This chocolate cake roll is super simple, but does take some time to prepare, mostly because it needs to cool or chill at several points in the recipe. It’s worth it, though! You can find more detailed instructions in the recipe card below.

Make the cake roll

• Prep. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line the jelly roll pan with parchment paper, making sure it sticks up at least an inch on all sides.
• Make the batter. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. In a large mixer bowl, whip the eggs, sugar, and vanilla on high until pale, fluffy, and thickened. Add half of the dry ingredients to the egg mixture, folding gently until mostly combined, then add the remaining dry ingredients and fold until combined.
• Add the hot milk. Combine the milk and butter then heat in the microwave until the butter is melted and the mixture is very hot. Gently whisk into the batter until combined.

• Bake. Spread the batter evenly in the pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
• Roll and cool. Use the parchment paper to lift the cake from the pan as soon as it comes out of the oven. Start at the shorter end and slowly roll the cake in the parchment paper. You can just set it aside at this point to cool completely but I like to unroll and re-roll several times every 5 minutes at first, then in 10-15 minute intervals.

Make the filling

• Make the filling. Whip the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract on high speed until it reaches stiff peaks.
• Add the filling. Gently unroll the cake, releasing the parchment paper with an offset spatula as needed. Spread the filling evenly on the unrolled cake. Roll the cake again, this time without the parchment paper.

• Chill. Wrap the chocolate roll cake in plastic wrap, seam side down, and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Finish it off

• Make the ganache. Add the chocolate to a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, heat the cream in the microwave until it begins to boil. Pour over the chocolate, let it sit for a few minutes, then stir until smooth.
• Pour over the cake. Remove the cake from the plastic wrap and place it on a cooling rack over a large cookie sheet. Pour the ganache over the cake, spreading it to cover the entire cake.
• Chill or serve. Serve the Swiss roll cake immediately or refrigerate for 1-2 hours until the chocolate is cold and firm. Slice and serve.

Why Did My Roll Cake Crack?

My favorite way to prevent cracks is to roll and unroll the cake several times as it cools, which I find makes it much more pliable and flexible. Another important thing is to roll the cake immediately out of the oven. You also want to fill it just after it reaches room temperature. If it sits for too long – or overnight – before being filled, it’s much more likely to crack.

Finally, make sure you keep the cake at room temperature as it cools. Refrigerating it before adding the filling also causes cracking.

But if your chocolate roll cake cracks, don’t worry – it happens and you can usually hide the cracks with the filling and the ganache!

Tips For The Best Chocolate Roll Cake

• Measure ingredients properly. This is a big one for the best results, particularly when measuring flour. I always recommend having a food scale on hand.
• Remove from the pan immediately. You want to use the parchment paper to remove the cake from the pan as soon as it comes out of the oven. Do not let it cool first.
• Cool before adding the filling. Let the chocolate cake come to room temperature before you prepare the filling. Depending on how warm your kitchen is, this usually takes about 1-2 hours.
• Use COLD heavy whipping cream. This is essential as it won’t whip up properly otherwise.
• Use the powdered sugar. Don’t leave out the powdered sugar, as this stabilizes the whipped cream, so that it doesn’t wilt.
• Chill before slicing. For the cleanest cuts on your Swiss roll cake, let it chill for another hour or so before you slice it. I think the chocolate tastes better this way too!

Proper Storage

Store your chocolate Swiss roll in the fridge for 3-4 days. It should be wrapped in plastic or covered in a container.

You can also freeze it. Wrap it well in a couple layers of plastic wrap before freezing, then thaw in the fridge before using. I like to freeze it out the chocolate ganache and add it before serving, so that it stays looking nice.

More Chocolate Cake Recipes To Try

• Coconut Chocolate Cake
• Mint Chocolate Cake
• German Chocolate Cake
• Flourless Chocolate Cake
• Triple Chocolate Cookie Cake
• Nutella Chocolate Cake

Watch How To Make It

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