This bakery Swiss roll cake recipe is direct from my family’s three generations of professional bakers. Light and fluffy, this will be the best Swiss roll cake you’ll ever taste!
This Swiss roll cake is made with a light and fluffy sponge cake base, a thin layer of jam or jelly, then rolled into a gorgeous roll cake. It's perfect for Christmas, Thanksgiving, or any other holiday!
The Swiss roll is made with cake flour, eggs, sugar, and vegetable oil. It's light, airy, and surprisingly dairy free!
Swiss Roll Cake Recipe Tips:
Start with room temperature egg whites as they whip up better and create more volume. The first thing I do before preparing any other ingredients is separate the whites and yolks and leave them at room temperature. By the time I'm done preparing the other ingredients, the whites should be at room temperature.
When creating the meringue, whip the egg whites to a soft peak before adding any sugar. This allows the meringue to keep its volume and not deflate when adding the sugar. I always split the sugar into three equal parts. Never add all the sugar at once when creating a meringue.
For the egg yolk mixture, beat everything over a warm bowl of water. This helps the sugar melt and incorporate with the other ingredients to give you a very airy, fluffy egg yolk batter. The fluffier the batter, the fluffier the cake. The egg yolk batter should be pale yellow in color and light and fluffy.
Test for the ribbon stage: Lift the whisk and let the batter fall back into the bowl. It should fall slowly and form thick ribbons that leave a trail before slowly disappearing.
Next, sift the dry ingredients into the mixture in three equal parts. Gently fold it in each time before adding more.
Prepare the Baking Pan
Cut out your parchment paper so that it fits your pan to ensure a flat, even surface for the cake batter. This ensures that the cake bakes and browns evenly and makes the Swiss roll cake easy to roll up.
I used a 9 x 13 inch pan. When pouring the batter into the pan, pour it from a height of about 8 inches above the baking pan. This helps pop any large air bubbles in your batter. Be sure to smooth the batter into the corners.
Roll up the Cake
After taking out your cake from the oven, invert it onto a clean, slightly dampened kitchen towel and peel off the parchment paper. Gently roll up your cake and hold it in place so that it doesn't unravel. A rolling pin is perfect for this. Be sure not to squeeze the cake or roll it up too tightly as this can cause cracks to form.
Add the Filling
Unroll the cake once it's slightly warm and add your favorite jelly or jam. I filled it with some leftover homemade cranberry sauce which turned out to be a great way to use leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving or Christmas.
If filling with cream or custard, wait for the cake to completely cool. Roll it back up, top with powdered sugar and berries, and enjoy this bakery Swiss roll cake!
More Dessert Recipes:
- Easy Sponge Cake
- Light and Fluffy Chiffon Cake
- Japanese Strawberry Shortcake
- Custard Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce
- Chocolate Roll Cake - Swiss Roll
- Strawberry Cheesecake
- Soft and Fluffy Japanese Milk Bread
Recipe
Bakery Swiss Roll Cake Recipe
Equipment
☑ Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 cup cake flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup white sugar - for egg yolk mixture
- ⅓ cup white sugar - for egg white meringue
Wet Ingredients:
- 2 teaspoons corn syrup - or agave/honey
- 6 eggs - whites and yolks separated
- ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste - or vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons water
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
Filling:
- ¾ cup homemade cranberry sauce - or other filling of your choice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Then separate the egg whites and egg yolks in separate bowls.6 eggs
Egg Yolk Mixture:
- In a medium bowl, add together the egg yolks, sugar (for egg yolk mixture), salt, corn syrup, vanilla, and water. Set this bowl inside a larger bowl filled with warm water and beat on high until pale yellow with ribbons form. Remove from the warm water bath and set aside.¼ teaspoon salt, ½ cup white sugar, 2 teaspoons corn syrup, ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste, 2 Tablespoons water
Egg White Meringue:
- In a large bowl, add the egg whites and beat on high until soft peaks form. Start adding the sugar for the egg whites in three equal parts, beating each time to incorporate. Beat the egg whites on high until stiff peaks form.⅓ cup white sugar
Roll Cake Batter:
- Add ½ of the egg white meringue to the egg yolk mixture and gently fold it in until it's mostly mixed in. The batter should be light and airy. Next, sift the flour and baking powder together and add this into the batter in three equal parts, gently folding after each time.1 cup cake flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder
- In a small bowl, microwave the oil until it's warm to the touch. Take out ¼ cup of the combined batter from the previous step and mix this fully into the warm oil. Fold this back into the combined batter. Next, add the entire batter to the remaining egg white meringue and fold it in gently.⅓ cup vegetable oil
Baking & Filling the Roll Cake:
- Pour the batter into a parchment lined pan. Bang the pan twice to remove large air bubbles and bake for 15 - 20 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean when it's done. Note: It took me 18 minutes but timing will vary according to your oven.
- Take out the cake, invert the pan onto a clean, slightly damp kitchen cloth, and remove the parchment paper from the bottom. Roll up the cake and hold it in place.
- Once the cake is slightly warm to the touch, unroll the cake and spread with your jam or jelly filling. If filling with custard or cream, wait until the cake is completely cooled so the filling doesn't melt. Top with powdered sugar and berries. Serve and enjoy!
✎ Recipe Notes
- Cake pan: I used a 9 x 13 inch rectangular cake pan but you can also use a jelly roll pan. Linked above are two cake pans that I use and recommend for this recipe.
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is an estimate, calculated using online tools.
Anita
Taste and texture is amazing! I added 2 tbsp matcha powder. Any idea why it cracked when rolling? Did I over bake or took too long to roll that caused the crack?
Gina
I have a friend that can't have corn syrup. Would you recommend something else in place of it for this recipe?
Niki
Hey, what can I replace the avocado oil with?
Thanks
Tulsi
This is a delicious cake. I prefer desserts that are not overly sweet and this is just right. Can this be successfully made in advance and if so, how do you store it? Thanks.
Girlwhobake
Hi, thank u for the recipe, its delicious.
I'm wondering if this recipe can be used as a cupcake?
Thanks
Diane Marshall
Hi Jamie, JUst tried this recipe, it's in the oven now but I had a few questions. When you say beat the egg yolks over the water bath till you see ribbons can you define that? Do you mean when beating the batter has a ribbon effect?
Also, when I warmed the oil the egg yolk batter didn't combine into the oil and it looked like it curdles a bit. How should this work?
I would love to make this again but with more confidence with consistencies.
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe.
Bri
I am always drawn to family recipes - they are so special.
This is my new favourite. I think we will be using it for our family birthday celebrations from now on! Thanks for the tip about using cake flour - I had always stuck to AP in the past, but the cake flour really does give an amazing texture.
Jamie
Thank you Bri! I'm so glad this is your new favorite. It really makes the best birthday cake! 🙂
Nick
Is there a video for this recipe? thanks
Jamie
Hi Nick, I'll add that to my to do list. 🙂
EmmerEssen
Hi Jamie,
I tried your recipe as a roll cake and it came out perfectly!
Would I be able to get the same great results baking in a round 9" pan?
Thank you!
Jamie
Thank you! You can certainly bake it in a pan to make a sponge cake which I have a recipe for on the site. 🙂
Virginia
Delicious! I made it for 4th of July. Spread a layer of blueberry preserves on the cake then a layer of whipped cream before rolling. Topped with a dusting of powdered sugar and sliced strawberries to complete the red, white & blue theme.
Brittany
I made this as my first ever successful roll cake! All others have ended in trifle, lol. It was soooo good, especially the day after baking. Thank you so much for the recipe and clear instructions.