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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
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!
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
I made this cake today for my husband’s birthday. I filled it with stabilized whipped cream and fresh strawberries. It was literally like eating a whipped strawberry cloud. Outstanding recipe! Thank you heaps for sharing! I’ve never been able to get such a fluffy texture from a Swiss role cake before and now we have a new family favorite! Can’t wait to try out the chocolate version in the winter for my Bouche de Noel!
Thank you Katerina! I’m so glad you enjoyed you and your husband enjoyed this roll cake. It’s definitely a favorite in our household too!
I made this for a family birthday, and everyone loved it. In fact, they RAVED about it! I can’t wait to make it again soon 🙂
Hey this recipe looks great, but I just wanna ask if it’s possible to replace the avocado oil with regular cooking oil?
Hi Starling, absolutely. Any cooking oil would do. Hope you enjoy!
I loved the taste of the cake i could eat it without filling ♥️♥️And i wanted to know if i could freeze the batter for few days to use it later or not ?
Hi Sophia! So glad you enjoyed the cake. 🙂 I wouldn’t recommend freezing the batter but you can certainly freeze the cake! You can wrap the cake in plastic wrap and then store it in a freezer safe container. Then thaw it at room temperature or in the refrigerator before serving.
Can I use self rising flour ??
Hi Maritze! Unfortunately I wouldn’t use self rising flour for this recipe and stick to cake flour as it can affect the texture of this cake.
Loved this recipe!! I’m Indian so I put Kissan Jam and whipped cream inside and it tasted divine. I’ve made several other roll cakes but none of them turned out this fluffy. The cake didn’t taste too eggy either!! Thank you so so much!! ??❤️
Hi Dipti! So glad you enjoyed this! I just looked up Kissan Jam and it sounds wonderful with this cake. I’ll have to order some! 🙂
Hi Jamie, great recipe!
Is it possible to omit the use of baking powder?
Also, can replace corn syrup with honey instead?
Thanks!
Hi Lee! You can certainly replace the corn syrup with honey if you’d like. I haven’t tried omitting the baking powder but as it’s a leavener, the cake may not rise as much so I wouldn’t recommend it. Hope that helps!
This was so soft and just like I get at the Chinese bakery! Love this recipe.
I love the Cranberry Filling making this Swiss Roll delicious. I have to definitely make some this weekend. My kids to love it.
This looks amazing! I’m definitely going to try this recipe! Thanks for sharing.
Omg this recipe is delicious and amazing! And with the fresh cranberry sauce as a filling, it’s absolutely perfect for my holiday menu!
I hadn’t had a Swiss roll in FOREVER – this one didn’t disappoint. There is a reason that classics stay great forever. Yummy!!
Wow, this turned out absolutely amazing! Thank you!
WOW oh wow. It took longer than l expected to make this recipe but the results were worth it!!! Thanks SO much! Such a high rise & moist cake.
Thank you so much Lisa! So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
I tried this recipe a few days ago for my brother’s birthday and it was amazing! Moist, fluffy and delicious! Everyone loved it, it’s totally worth the few extra steps!
By chance do you have any variations of this recipe for different flavoring? Like swapping out some of the flour with cocoa to make it chocolate?
Amazing to hear Khristi! I’m so glad everyone loved it! ? Yes I absolutely have other variations of this recipe and they are coming soon on the blog! I’ll make sure to prioritize the chocolate one! ?
This cake has such a nice sponge! Great idea to add the homemade cranberry sauce instead of something store bought!
Thanks Delaine! The sponge is my absolute favorite part of this cake. I could eat it forever and not get sick of it haha.
This looks so delicious! Swiss rolls are so tasty but i’ve never tried one myself, i’ll have to give this recipe a try. Thank you!
Hi Sophia! Thanks for the comment! Yes this swiss roll is freaking delicious. I hope you give it a try!
Hi Jamie,
What can i use to substitute the corn syrup? Can i also substitute avocado oil with canola oil? I really wanna make this amazing cake ?
Hi Stevanny! You can use maple syrup or agave instead of corn syrup but you may want to reduce the sugar just a little bit since they are sweeter than corn syrup. And yes you can use avocado oil instead of canola oil. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
This is a recipe Agnes would be proud of, or at least want to come and snuggle! So light, fluffy & delicious!
Hahaha I love your comment Beth! It’s so fluffy! My favorite scene in that movie. xD
My mom used to make this cake for me as a kid, too! I will have to carry the tradition on and make it for my children; looks perfect!
Yesss childhood cake memories are so wonderful! Thanks so much for the kind words Beth!
This Swiss roll looks perfect! And I want to try it for Mother’s Day. I don’t have cranberries, but I do have raspberries to give it that contrast color. I’ll come back in a few weeks to report 🙂
Yay Lizet!! I hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day! You definitely deserve it. 🙂 I hope you liked this recipe!
May I know can I use homemade eggwhite whipping cream for Swiss roll filling.yhks for your advice.
Hi Doreen! I don’t see why you couldn’t use egg white whipped frosting for the filling. Hope you enjoy!
This cake seriously is that fluffy!! I had no idea this is how you make a rolled cake. Next time I’m baking is for Memorial Day. I’m going to use this and add blueberries to go with the theme!
That’s such a wonderful idea to add blueberries with this! Thanks for the kind words Jen! I hope you enjoy this recipe!