This homemade Chocolate Swiss Roll is so much better than the Little Debbie snack we all know and love! A from-scratch chocolate cake is beautifully rolled with fluffy whipped cream and topped with thick chocolate ganache. It’s as delicious as it is impressive!

A chocolate swiss roll is presented with a perfect swirl in the center.


Chocolate Swiss Roll

Calling all Little Debbie lovers! If you’re a fan of those little chocolatey snack cakes, you’re really going to love this homemade version. Also, check out my easy recipe for Cosmic Brownies to really blow your mind! As much as I love those plastic wrapped goodies, I can easily say that these homemade recipes far surpass anything that comes in a paper box.

While the snack cakes have definitely popularized the swiss roll, that’s not where this gorgeous cake originated. The swiss roll cake doesn’t have exact ties to any single country (despite the name), but it’s believed to have been created in central Europe long ago. It’s not hard to see why it’s only become more beloved with time. It’s so pretty and always such a delicious treat!

Don’t let the swirl (or the fails on Great British Bake Off) intimidate you. This cake is actually pretty easy to make from scratch and rolling it is no big deal! While it may require a little more TLC than your usual cake recipe, it’s well worth the additional effort. When you really want to impress a chocolate lover in your life, this is the cake recipe to turn to.

The ingredients for swiss roll cake are placed on a white surface.

How to Make Chocolate Swiss Roll

This swiss roll cake recipe is easier to make than you may think! For more precise directions and ingredients, scroll down to the recipe card.

First, make the chocolate cake:

  1. Prepare. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 12X17 baking sheet and line it with parchment paper.
  2. Beat the egg whites. Use an electric mixing bowl with the whisk attachment to beat the egg whites with 1/3 cup sugar until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
  3. Beat egg yolks. In another bowl, beat the egg yolks with another 1/3 cup sugar on medium-high until the mixture is pale yellow and thickened. Add in the melted butter, sour cream and vanilla. Mix with the paddle attachment of stand mixer to combine.
  4. Add dry ingredients. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and espresso powder into the yolk mixture and blend until combined.
  5. Combine the mixtures. Use a rubber spatula to fold in 1/3 of the whipped egg whites. Once combined, gently fold in another 1/3, followed by the final third of the mixture. Be very gentle so you don’t deflate the air in the egg whites.
  6. Bake. Pour the batter onto the baking sheet and smooth it out. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Do not over bake the cake! While the cake’s in the oven, dust a tea towel with icing sugar or cocoa powder.
  7. Flip it. Once it’s done baking, place the baking sheet on a cooling rack for just 2-3 minutes. Run a knife around the edges so the cake will release from the pan. Invert the cake onto the tea towel.
  8. Roll it. Take off the parchment paper and don’t rip the cake! From one of the smaller edges of the tea towel, fold it over about an inch and continue folding until you reach the edge of the cake. Start by having this one inch fold laying over the first inch of the cake, then start rolling the cake into the tea towel firmly but carefully. Once the cake is rolled up into the tea towel, let it cool at room temperature seam side down on a cooling rack for approximately 1 hour. Don’t place in the fridge – this will cool it too quickly and lead to cracking!

Next, make the whipped cream and roll it:

  1. Beat the ingredients. Use the whisk attachment of your electric mixer to whip the heavy cream with sugar and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form.
  2. Spread the whipped cream. Carefully unroll the cooled cake. Spread the whipped cream all over the cake and leave about 1/2 inch from the edge you’ll be rolling to.
  3. Roll it. Roll the cake back up again and use the tea towel to get started if you need to. Don’t worry if the filling spills out of the edges because it can be cleaned up! Place the cake on a cooling rack over parchment paper while you make the ganache.

Finally, top it off with the ganache:

  1. Make the ganache. Add heavy cream and corn syrup to a bowl. Microwave until the cream is steaming, but not boiling. Add the chopped chocolate and let it sit for 5 minutes to give the chocolate time to start melting. Then, stir to combine until smooth. Set it aside to cool and thicken.
  2. Pour it. Pour the ganache all over the top of the roll, allowing it to drip down the sides and cover the whole swiss roll.
  3. Let it set. Let the swiss roll set for about an hour in the fridge before slicing and serving!

Tips for the Best Chocolate Swiss Roll

  • This recipe is created for a 12×17” baking sheet. The resulting cake is the right thickness for rolling. A smaller pan will give a thicker cake which may not roll as well.
  • It’s important to beat the whites and yolks separately. The fluffy egg whites are the only leavening agent in this cake.
  • When adding the whipped egg whites to the batter, it’s important to do so in stages. When folding in the first third you don’t need to be super careful to fold it in gently, this step is to just lighten up the batter. But the next two folding steps, take care to do it gently so as not to deflate all the air that has been whipped into the whites.
  • It’s okay if there are a few white streaks or small clumps in the final batter. If you work the batter too much trying to mix every last white clump you will deflate the batter too much.
  • To prevent the cake from cracking: don’t over bake the cake and be sure to roll the cake up in a tea towel while it’s still warm – this will provide “memory” to the cake as it cools.
  • Dusting the tea towel with cocoa powder or icing sugar helps to prevent the cake from sticking to the tea towel too much. Alternatively, you can use parchment paper in place of the tea towel like we did with our Pumpkin Roll.
A fork is placed on a plate with a slice of swiss roll cake.

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A chocolate swiss roll is presented with a perfect swirl in the center.

Get the Recipe: Swiss Roll Recipe

Yield: 12
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Cooling Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 5 hours 20 minutes
Indulge in a heavenly dessert – a light and airy chocolate sponge cake roll filled with fluffy whipped cream and finished with a rich chocolate ganache drizzle. Each slice reveals a stunning swirl of chocolate and cream, a pure delight for chocolate enthusiasts.
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Ingredients

  • 6 large eggs – room temperature and separated
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar, 135g – divided (1/3 cup and 1/3 cup)
  • 3 tablespoons melted butter – cooled
  • 2 tablespoons full fat sour cream
  • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon espresso powder, you can leave out if you prefer

Whipped Cream Filling

  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Ganache Topping

  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon corn syrup
  • 5 oz semi-sweet melting chocolate, like Baker’s in the grocery store

Equipment

  • 1 baking sheet
  • 1 parchment paper

Instructions 

The Chocolate Cake

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 12×17 baking sheet and line with parchment paper.
  • In a mixing bowl with a whisk attachment beat the egg whites with 1/3 cup of sugar. Continue beating until stiff peaks form and then set bowl aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl combine the egg yolks with the other 1/3 cup of sugar. Beat on medium/high until the yolk mixture becomes pale yellow and is thickened – about 3 minutes. Add in the melted butter (cooled but still liquid), sour cream and vanilla extract. Mix together with the paddle attachment of your stand mixer until combined.
  • Sift the flour, cocoa powder, and espresso powder if using, into the egg yolk mixture. Blend until combined. This batter will be quite thick.
  • With a rubber spatula fold in 1/3 of the whipped egg whites. Once combined gently fold in another third of egg whites. Once this is almost combined fold in the final third of the egg whites being very gentle so as not to deflate the air in the egg whites as much as possible. The mixture should be light and fluffy with few to no white streaks present.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared baking sheet and smooth out the top with an offset spatula.
  • Bake at 350F for 12-14 minutes. The cake should spring back slightly to the touch and may begin pulling away from the edges. You do not want to overbake the cake. While the cake is baking dust a tea towel (bigger than 12×17) with icing sugar or cocoa powder.
  • When the cake is finished baking, place the baking sheet on a cooling rack for no more than 2-3 minutes. Run a knife around the edges so that the cake will release cleanly from the pan. Confidently invert the cake onto the sugar dusted tea towel in one motion to prevent the cake from tearing.
  • Carefully remove the parchment sheet taking care to not tear the cake. From one of the smaller edges of the tea towel, fold it over about an inch and continue folding until you reach the edge of the cake. Start by having this one inch fold laying over the first inch of the cake, and now begin rolling the cake into the tea towel firmly but gently. Once the cake is rolled up into the tea towel allow it to cool at room temperature seam side down on a cooling rack for about an hour. Do not place in the fridge – this can cool it too fast and lead to cracking.

The Whipped Cream Filling

  • When the rolled cake is cool enough, use the whisk attachment of your mixer to whip the heavy cream with sugar and vanilla extract until medium/firm peaks form then set aside.
  • Unroll the cooled cake and spread whipped topping evenly over entire cake leaving about ½ inch from the final edge you will be rolling to.
  • Begin rolling the cake back up again. You can use the tea towel to help you get started if it helps. Don’t worry if filling spills out the edges, you can clean that up after it is rolled, and any filling that spills out at the end can be wiped away as well. Place the rolled and filled cake onto a cooling rack and then place the cooling rack over a parchment paper lined baking sheet (to collect the chocolate ganache run-off)

The Chocolate Ganache Topping

  • In a microwave safe bowl add heavy cream and corn syrup (a microwave safe measuring cup is perfect). Heat on high until the cream is steaming but not boiling, about 40 seconds and then 5 second increments after that if it is still not warm enough.
  • Add the chopped semisweet chocolate. Allow to sit for 5 minutes giving the chocolate time to begin melting, and then stir to combine until smooth. Avoid stirring too vigorously as you do not want to create air bubbles. Set aside to cool – the ganache will become thicker as it cools and will provide a thicker coat when you pour it.
  • Pour the chocolate ganache onto the top of the roll allowing it to drip down the sides to cover the entirety of the swiss roll. You can use a spoon to help place the ganache where it needs to go. Place the wire rack with the cake into the refrigerator to set up for an hour before slicing and serving.
  • To slice the cake, run a serrated knife under hot water and wipe dry between slices. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

This recipe is created for a 12×17” baking sheet. The resulting cake is the right thickness for rolling, a smaller pan will give a thicker cake which may not roll as well. It is important to beat the whites and yolks separately.
The fluffy egg whites are the only leavening agent in this cake. When adding the whipped egg whites to the batter it is important to add in stages. When folding in the first third you don’t need to be super careful to fold it in gently, this step is to just lighten up the batter, but the next two folding steps, take care to do it gently so as not to deflate all the air that has been whipped into the whites. It’s ok if there are a few white streaks or small clumps in the final batter, if you work the batter too much trying to mix every last white clump you will deflate the batter too much.
To prevent the cake from cracking: don’t overbake the cake, be sure to roll the cake up in a tea towel while it is still warm – this will provide “memory” to the cake as it cools. Dusting the tea towel with Cocoa powder or icing sugar helps to prevent the cake from sticking to the tea towel too much. Alternatively, you can use parchment paper in place of a tea towel.
Calories: 310kcal, Carbohydrates: 27g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 21g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 125mg, Sodium: 66mg, Potassium: 173mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 21g, Vitamin A: 662IU, Vitamin C: 0.2mg, Calcium: 46mg, Iron: 2mg
Author: Kellie
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American