Skip to content

Swiss Roll

Desserts Cakes

Ingredients

Buttercream Filling:
  • 1⅔ cups powdered sugar
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 tbsp chocolate or coffee-flavoured liqueur
  • 1½ tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 pinch salt
  • (⅓ cup mascarpone cheese, optional)
Sponge Cake:
  • 2 tbsp melted butter
  • ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • ½ tsp kosher salt
  • 5 large eggs, at room temperature
  • ⅔ cup white sugar
  • ½ tsp vanilla
  • 2 tbsp powdered sugar, or as needed
Ganache Frosting:
  • 1 cup heavy cream, boiling-hot
  • 1 (225g/8 ounce) package dark chocolate chips

Method

  1. To make the buttercream filling: Whip powdered sugar, butter, coffee-flavoured liqueur, cocoa powder, and salt together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on high speed.
  2. Transfer filling mixture to a separate bowl and add mascarpone cheese. Mix until combined; set aside. Clean and dry the stand mixer bowl.
  3. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
  4. Prepare a 13”x18” rimmed sheet pan for the sponge cake: Brush a little melted butter over the sheet pan, then line the pan with parchment paper, and brush remaining melted butter on top.
  5. Sift the cocoa powder, flour and salt, then whisk together in a bowl, making sure to break up any clumps.
  6. Place eggs in the clean bowl of your stand mixer. Add sugar and whip with the whisk attachment until fluffy, thick, and very light in color, 2 to 3 minutes.
  7. Add vanilla and ½ of the cocoa powder mixture; mix on low speed for a few seconds.
  8. Add remaining cocoa mixture and mix on low for a few seconds. Switch to high speed and mix until the mixture is moistened but not fully blended.
  9. Pull off the whisk attachment and use it to whisk the batter by hand until evenly blended.
  10. Pour batter onto the prepared sheet pan and spread out with a spatula, almost to the edges, but not quite. Tap the pan on the counter several times to remove any large air bubbles.
  11. Bake in the preheated oven until the top is dry and the edges start to pull away from the sides, 8 to 10 minutes.
  12. While the cake is baking, sift powdered sugar onto a clean kitchen towel to cover an area slightly larger than the sponge cake.
  13. Remove cake from the oven. Run a knife around the edges of the pan. Dust some powdered sugar over the top. Run a spatula under the parchment paper to make sure it's not stuck to the pan.
  14. Quickly flip the pan on top of the sugared area on the towel to invert the cake.
  15. Carefully remove the parchment paper, then sift more powdered sugar over the cake.
  16. Gently roll the cake up inside the towel; allow to cool in this position for 15 minutes.
  17. Carefully unroll the cooled cake. Dollop as much buttercream filling as you like on top, reserving some for later; spread to the edges.
  18. Roll cake up over the filling, using the towel to lift it if needed.
  19. Sprinkle more powdered sugar on top over the log, then wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.
  20. To make the ganache frosting: Pour hot cream over chocolate chips in a bowl. Let sit for 1 minute, then whisk until chocolate is melted.
  21. Spread a layer of ganache all over the cake, except for the swirls on the ends. Refrigerate for 15 minutes to firm up the ganache.
  22. Dust with cocoa powder and powdered sugar before serving.

[!TIP] All of the buttercream filling may be a little bit too much. You can use ⅔ of the filling for this recipe, and save the rest for cupcakes. Or, if you have a favourite frosting or filling, it will work here. As long as you can slice it later, pretty much anything goes. You can also add a splash of milk to achieve a lighter, fluffier buttercream.